TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign ministry has said a new round of nuclear talks with the US is being planned for Sunday, after President Donald Trump said it was expected on Thursday.
“The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement Tuesday, adding foreign minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi would this week attend the Norway’s Oslo Forum, a gathering of conflict mediators.
Iran and the US have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received “elements” of a US proposal for a nuclear deal, with Araghchi later saying the text contained “ambiguities”.
Iran said on Monday the US proposal was “lacking elements” reflective of the previous negotiations and that it would present a “reasonable, logical and balanced” counter-proposal to the US through mediator Oman.
Trump has said new US-Iran talks this week could clarify if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action.
He added that the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday.
Iran and the US have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran’s uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a “non-negotiable” right and Washington calling it as a “red line”.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead.
Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
