The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. (Credit: AFP.)
Negotiators from Iran and the United States met on Friday in Rome for a fifth round of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue under Omani mediation, as the negotiations seem to be stalling on the issue of uranium enrichment.
Tehran and Washington, enemies since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that overthrew a pro-Western monarchy in Iran, began discussions on April 12 on the thorny issue of the Iranian nuclear program.
Iranian agencies Tasnim, Fars and Isna reported around 12:00 GMT the start of discussions between the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and the American envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. These talks represent the highest level of engagement between the two countries since the United States' unilateral withdrawal in 2018 from the international nuclear agreement on Iran that was reached three years earlier in Vienna.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who initiated this decision during his first term (2017-2021), reinstated heavy American sanctions against Iran as part of a so-called "maximum pressure" policy. He is now seeking to negotiate a new pact with Tehran, which hopes for the lifting of sanctions that are stifling its economy.
The negotiators from the two countries are meeting on Friday at a time when Washington and Tehran openly display their disagreement over the sensitive issue of uranium enrichment. Witkoff, who is leading the discussions for Washington, stated on Sunday that the United States "could not allow even one percent of enrichment capacity" to Iran.
"Fundamental disagreements"
"Iran cannot have enrichment capacity, as it would make them a potential nuclear power," argued American Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
"Fundamental disagreements" remain with the United States, estimated the Iranian foreign minister, Araghchi, on Thursday, who is leading the negotiations for Tehran. If the United States prevents Iran from enriching uranium "there will be no agreement," he warned.
Tehran, which defends a right to civil nuclear power, considers this demand contrary to the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), of which Iran is a signatory. "Iranian sovereignty is a red line and Iran will not in any way give up the right to enrich uranium," Iranian political scientist Mohammad Marandi told AFP.
Western countries, led by the United States, and Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, considered by experts as the only nuclear power in the Middle East, suspect Iran of wanting to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran denies having such ambitions. Nuclear energy employs more than 17,000 people in Iran, particularly in the energy and medical sector, according to the spokesperson of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Behrouz Kamalvandi.
"The Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, Brazil, and Japan enrich [uranium] without possessing nuclear weapons," he noted at the beginning of May. On Thursday, Trump spoke about Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
"In the right direction"
Trump believes that the negotiations with Tehran, viewed with skepticism or even frank hostility by the Israeli leader, "are going in the right direction," she added. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is currently enriching uranium to 60%, well beyond the 3.67% limit authorized by the 2015 agreement, but below the 90% rate necessary for military use. Tehran has distanced itself from its 2015 commitments in retaliation for the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.
The 2015 nuclear agreement, which expires in October, ten years after the entry into force of the text, provides for the possibility of re-imposing UN sanctions if Iran does not comply with its commitments.