Tehran: Iran signalled willingness to compromise on its nuclear programme to revive a deal with the United States, provided Washington discusses sanctions relief, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in Tehran.
In an interview published Sunday and reported by Reuters, Takht-Ravanchi said Tehran stands ready to dilute its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium—nearing weapons-grade levels—and address other issues if the US proves sincere. “The ball is in America’s court,” he stated, adding, “If they are sincere, I’m sure we will be on the road to an agreement.”
The remarks come ahead of a second round of indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday, following “positive” discussions in Oman earlier this month. Takht-Ravanchi described the Oman session as moving “more or less in a positive direction,” echoing US President Donald Trump’s recent praise.
The US and Iran held indirect talks in the Gulf state of Oman earlier in February, and Takht-Ravanchi, who confirmed a second round was set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday, said they had been “more or less in a positive direction but it is too early to judge”. Trump has also described those talks as positive.
The deputy foreign minister pointed to Tehran’s offer to dilute its 60%-enriched uranium as evidence of its willingness to compromise.
At near weapons-grade level, it has deepened suspicion that the Islamic Republic is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied.
“We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our programme if they are ready to talk about sanctions,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. He would not confirm whether this meant lifting all or some sanctions.
As to whether Iran would agree to ship its stockpile of more than 400kg of highly e
nriched uranium out of Iran, as it did in the 2015 nuclear deal, Takht-Ravanchi said “it was too early to say what will happen in the course of negotiations”.
Russia, which accepted 11,000kg of uranium enriched to a low level as part of the 2015 multilateral accord that Trump pulled out of three years later, has offered to accept this material again.
Other proposals previously reported in the media include an offer from Tehran to temporarily suspend nuclear enrichment.
One of Iran’s main demands has been that talks should focus only on the nuclear file, and Takht-Ravanchi said: “Our understanding is that they have come to the conclusion that if you want to have a deal you have to focus on the nuclear issue.”
If confirmed, this would represent a key step forward for Iran. It has viewed Washington’s maximalist demands for zero enrichment as an obstacle to any deal.
Iran regards that as a red line, a violation of its rights under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC the “issue of zero enrichment is not an issue anymore and as far as Iran is concerned, it is not on the table anymore”. This contradicts comments made by Trump to reporters as recently as Friday that “we don’t want any enrichment”.
Iran’s negotiator also reiterated Tehran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile programme with American negotiators – which has been a key demand of Israel, a country targeted by these rockets.
Its inclusion in any deal, along with Iran’s support to armed groups across the region, has also been emphasised by US officials including Rubio.
“When we were attacked by Israelis and Americans, our missiles came to our rescue so how can we accept depriving ourselves of our defensive capabilities,” Takht-Ravanchi stressed.
The senior diplomat, who is playing a key role in the current talks as he did in the negotiations more than a decade ago, also expressed concern about the American president’s conflicting messages.
“We are hearing that they are interested in negotiations,” he said. “They have said it publicly; they have said it in private conversations through Oman that they are interested to have these matters resolved peacefully.”