US, Iranian officials held talks in Oman in May: Media reports
Omanis shuttled between two delegations that did not meet, Axios reports.
US and Iranian officials have indirectly detained talk in Oman to continue discussion of Tehran’s nuclear program and other issues, US-based news outlet Axios reported.
Brett McGurk, White House Middle East Coordinator, traveled to Oman on May 8, while the Iranian delegation — which includes chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kan — was also in the Gulf state, according to Axios, which identified three unnamed sources. quoted.
Omani officials forwarded messages between the two groups of diplomats, who were in different locations, Axios said, adding that in April US President Joe Biden’s administration floated the idea of an “interim agreement” with Iran over its nuclear program .
‘No secret’
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said at a press conference on Monday that the “negotiations in Muscat were not secret”. according to Tasnim news.
“We welcome the efforts of Omani officials and we have exchanged messages with the other side through Oman,” said Kanani.
He stressed that there was no intention to negotiate an interim agreement separate from the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers, which faltered three years later when then-US President Donald Trump pulled out. Under that agreement, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
The Reuters news agency reported that a US official speaking on condition of anonymity said Tehran and Washington were not discussing an interim agreement at this time and that such news was “false and misleading.” The report did not acknowledge or provide details about the talks in Oman.
But Reuters quoted the official as saying that Iranian officials had been told what steps could potentially lead to further tensions.
Axios reported that the US had warned Iran that it would face dire consequences if it enriched uranium to a purity of 90 percent, the level needed to make a nuclear bomb.
Tehran has denied it has any ambition to build a bomb. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Islamic values prevent Iran from pursuing a weapon of mass destruction and that he supports a nuclear deal as long as it preserves Iran’s current nuclear capabilities.
“Make sure the infrastructure of the nuclear industry remains untouched,” he said while visiting an exhibition showing advanced Iranian IR-6 centrifuges, used to enrich uranium.
There has been no significant movement in efforts to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal, despite several rounds of talks to save it. Western countries accused Iran of derailing the talks last year.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Washington will not fully return to the 2015 deal with Iran, but instead discussed a “mini-deal” with Iran, Israeli media reported. reported.
“What is currently on the agenda between Washington and Tehran is not a nuclear deal. It’s a mini deal,” Netanyahu said. “We’ll handle it.”
According to the Israeli media outlet Walla, Netanyahu said one of the US’s demands was that Iran not enrich uranium beyond 60 percent purity, the current level of enrichment.