Iran says ‘good start’ made in talks with US over nuclear programme

Original article by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Indirect talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme ended on Friday with a broad agreement to maintain a diplomatic path, possibly with further talks in the coming days, according to statements from Iran and the Omani hosts.

The relieved Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, described the eight hours of meetings as a “good start” conducted in a good atmosphere. He added that the continuance of talks depended on consultations in Washington and Tehran, but said Iran had underlined that any dialogue required refraining from threats.

The talks were the first to be held between Iran and the US since Washington and Israel launched devastating military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and political leadership last June.

The US president, Donald Trump, has in recent weeks assembled a large fleet in the region built around the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group, after telling Iranian protesters in January that “help is on the way” during large-scale anti-government demonstrations.

Iran, which has experienced intense internal unrest in which thousands of protesters have been killed in a bloody crackdown, had insisted that the talks be confined to guarantees about the civilian purpose of its nuclear programme, and not extend to human rights, its missiles, or support for proxy groups in the region including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. “Our talks are solely nuclear and we do not discuss any other issues with the Americans,” Araghchi said.

The indirect talks in Muscat were mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, in separate talks between the two sides. The US team was led by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The US Centcom commander, Adm Brad Cooper, was also present, underlining how Trump has made US military leverage a central part of his diplomatic armoury.

Al-Busaidi said in a statement: “These consultations focused on creating suitable conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations emphasising the importance of these talks and parties’ determination to succeed in achieving lasting security and stability.”

Trust between Iran and the US has been minimal since the US backed the launch of Israeli military strikes on Iran only days before the two sides were due to meet for a sixth round of talks last June.

“After eight turbulent months during which we went through a war, resuming a process of dialogue is not simple,” Araghchi said. “The deep mistrust that has developed on top of previous mistrust is a serious challenge. First we must overcome the prevailing atmosphere of distrust … If this trend continues, I think we can reach a good framework for an agreement”.

Washington wanted to expand the talks to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups in the region and “treatment of their own people” – as the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Wednesday. But, after days of speculation, Iranian negotiators were satisfied that only the nuclear dispute would be discussed, at least initially.

Iran is seeking assurances that the US is not using the talks as a smokescreen to impose regime change.

Before the talks, Tehran said the US had to drop its request for the negotiations to be held in Turkey in the presence of foreign ministers from Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Iran says its right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil – a right it was granted in the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by Barack Obama – is not negotiable. The best source of compromise is that Iran agrees to suspend plans to enrich uranium for a fixed number of years, and a regional consortium is formed that enriches uranium, taking the region closer to an integrated civil nuclear programme.

Iran is also seeking sanctions relief in return for a new inspections regime at its nuclear sites. The value of the rial against the dollar has halved since the Israeli attacks in June, and Iran’s plummeting standard of living, made worse by runaway food inflation close to more than 100%, was the spark for the demonstrations that broke out in late December.

The talks were meanwhile being held against the backdrop of repeated warnings by Trump that he will strike Iran militarily from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group if no progress is made. The US has been building up its naval presence in the region after the Iranian government crackdown on protests, heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Tehran has said it will not hesitate to attack Israel or US military bases in the region if it is attacked. Washington last month held back from attacking Iran partly because Israel and the US military did not feel they were fully prepared to withstand the likely Iranian reprisals.