US and Iran Show Flexibility in Nuclear Talks, Says Turkish FM
The United States and Iran are demonstrating flexibility in nuclear negotiations, with Washington reportedly “willing” to tolerate some nuclear enrichment, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday.
“It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,” Fidan said. He added that Iran now recognizes the need to reach a deal with the US, while Washington understands that Iran has certain limits. “It’s pointless to try to force them,” he said.
Until now, Washington has demanded that Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent fissile purity, just below the 90 percent level considered weapons grade. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reiterated that Tehran will continue to press for the lifting of financial sanctions and the preservation of its nuclear rights, including enrichment.
Fidan said he believes Iran “genuinely wants to reach a real agreement” and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspection regime, similar to the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other international partners.
US and Iranian diplomats conducted talks last week in Oman through Omani mediators in an effort to revive diplomacy. The discussions came as President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of renewed military tensions. Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East even as negotiations were set to resume.
Fidan cautioned that expanding talks to include Iran’s ballistic missile program would likely lead to “nothing but another war.”
The US State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
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