In the conflict between the USA and Iran, an early start of nuclear talks seems to be getting closer: Iran’s President Massoud Peseschkian ordered the start of talks about Iran’s nuclear program with the USA on Monday, as the Iranian Fars news agency reported. US President Donald Trump recently expressed confidence that a “deal” with Tehran would be reached. “Iran and the US will hold discussions on the nuclear issue,” Fars reported, without specifying a date for the talks. Foreign Office spokesman Esmail Bakaei had previously announced that Tehran was currently working on a “framework” for relevant negotiations.
The latest tensions were triggered by the violent suppression of anti-government protests in Iran, which resulted in thousands of deaths, and US President Donald Trump threatened a possible new military attack on Iran. The USA sent warships to the region – and called for negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program.
Over the weekend, both Trump and the Iranian leadership signaled a willingness to negotiate. At the same time, however, both sides also sent out renewed threats: Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned of a “regional war” in the event of a US attack. According to the army, Tehran’s armed forces have been put on alert.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by telephone with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. In the separate talks, the minister discussed the “recent regional and international developments,” the state news agency Irna reported. On Friday, Araghchi traveled to Turkey for talks in view of the military tensions with the USA.
Washington and Tehran had already negotiated Iran’s controversial nuclear program last year, but the talks had stalled. Israel then attacked the country, and the USA followed with bombings of central nuclear facilities. Now there is talk of negotiations again. Iran’s regime is apparently hoping that this will result in the lifting of harsh international sanctions and economic recovery.
US President Donald Trump has responded to Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s warning of a “regional war”. Asked about his comments, Trump told reporters on Sunday: “Why wouldn’t he say that? Of course you can say that. But we have the largest and most powerful ships in the world there, very close, just a few days away.” Trump added: “Hopefully we can come to an agreement. If we don’t reach an agreement, we’ll find out whether he was right or not.”
