Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that would deliver economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying Sunday, days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.
Iran and the U.S. resumed negotiations earlier this month aimed at resolving their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program and averting a new military confrontation. The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks fail, U.S. officials told Reuters.
“For the sake of an agreement’s durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns,” Foreign Ministry Deputy Director for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran has threatened retaliation against any U.S. attack but struck a conciliatory tone Sunday.
“Common interests in oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations,” Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers did not secure U.S. economic interests.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a news conference in Bratislava, said President Donald Trump had made clear he prefers diplomacy and a negotiated settlement.
“No one’s ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran but we’re going to try,” Rubio said.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact, which had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran.
On Friday, a source told Reuters that a U.S. delegation including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official confirmed the meeting Sunday.
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling, I think they are traveling right now, to have important meetings and we’ll see how that turns out,” Rubio said, without elaborating.
While the talks that led to the 2015 agreement were multilateral, the current negotiations are limited to Iran and the U.S., with Oman serving as mediator.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled Iran’s readiness to compromise on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, telling the BBC on Sunday that the ball was “in America’s court to prove that they want to do a deal.”
He cited a statement earlier this week by Iran’s atomic chief that Tehran could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief as evidence of flexibility.
However, he reiterated that Iran would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in previous negotiations. Washington views enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.
In June, the U.S. joined Israel in a series of airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites.
The U.S. is also increasing economic pressure on Tehran. At a White House meeting earlier this week, Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that the U.S. would work to reduce Iran’s oil exports to China, Axios reported Saturday.
China accounts for more than 80% of Iran’s oil exports, meaning any reduction in that trade would significantly cut Tehran’s oil revenue.