Wall Street Journal: Washington is trying to start direct talks with Iran

According to RCO News Agency, US officials say Washington is trying to launch direct nuclear talks with Iran, as the Trump administration is seeking an ambitious goal, the dissolution of Tehran’s nuclear program.

“If Iran agrees to enter into these talks, the negotiations will be the first direct and sustainable talks between the two countries from the time Trump left the nuclear deal in year 6,” the Wall Street Journal wrote. The Trump administration also seeks to achieve results beyond what was achieved in the Obama administration’s agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Arakchi had earlier announced Iran’s response to Trump’s letter to the destination, saying that Iran would not enter into direct talks with the United States.

Last Tuesday, Axius News agency reported that an US official confirmed that Trump received an official response from Iran to a letter sent to Iran three weeks ago. While Trump had proposed direct nuclear negotiations, Iran has only agreed to the indirect talks with Oman’s mediation.

The US official said the Trump administration thinks direct negotiations have a higher chance of success, but they do not reject Iran’s proposed framework and do not oppose the Omani mediation between the two countries like in the past.

However, according to US officials who were during these diplomatic trends, no decision has been made and internal debates are ongoing.
“I think Iran is willing to start direct talks,” Trump told reporters last night.
Trump said his preference was direct talks, and this may help facilitate the agreement.

“I think it’s going so faster and you can understand the other party much better than when it comes to work,” he said.

The US president said: “They wanted to use the mediating, but I don’t think this is necessarily true.” I think they are worried and feel vulnerable, but I don’t want to feel that.

America’s excellence

“This will probably be a difficult request,” the Wall Street Journal wrote. Tehran has refused to abandon its nuclear program for decades and insists that it has the right to enrich uranium for its peaceful purposes. After years of negotiation, the US agreement to continue the significant enrichment of uranium by Iran was the key to achieving the nuclear deal of the year.

But this time, according to a senior US government official, such an agreement will not be enough, and “the United States is seeking to completely eliminate Iran’s nuclear program.”

Wall Street claims that an Iranian official has implicitly pointed out that Tehran may be inclined to talk to Washington in the future.

Washington wants to avoid long talks with Iran

The senior US official, mentioned earlier, says the Trump administration is looking for direct talks between senior officials and wants to avoid situations in which negotiators have transmitted their messages for months or years in different floors. US officials during the Biden administration, after Iran’s refusal of direct talks, negotiated with their Iranian counterparts.

Steve Witekaf, a special representative of the Trump administration for the West Asian affairs, will probably be a member of the negotiating team, though no team or place of negotiations have been announced yet.

Iran has introduced its nuclear program for two decades as one of its main achievements and has refused to abandon it despite widespread diplomatic pressure and international sanctions. Iran has also repeatedly stated that it will never negotiate its ballistic missile program, which is critical to defending national interests and enemies.

Iran’s skill and experience in nuclear negotiations

Iran has a great deal of experience in using negotiations to reduce pressure and maintain its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal wrote. Richard Nafio, a senior official in negotiations with Iran during the Biden and Obama governments, referred to as the architect of Iranian sanctions, said Iranians are trying to avoid being in a position to be “yes or no”. “They are always looking for a third way to buy more time and space,” he said.

“If Iran adheres to its traditional red lines, it may force Washington to quickly make a difficult decision on how to respond or stop negotiations,” the newspaper wrote.
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