The next meeting will begin to draw a “general framework” for the dialogue process, confirms Tehran
The delegations of Iran and the United States have agreed, after the first round of indirect conversations held today in Mascate (Oman), a next meeting next Saturday, April 19, on the negotiation on the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic and the lifting of sanctions to the country, already with a view to writing a “general framework” of dialogue.
This has been confirmed by the head of the Iranian delegation, the Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who highlighted the cordial environment of the conversations, a total of four exchanges of opinions, where both parties “expressed their opinions” thanks to Omaní mediation.
“In my opinion, the first meeting has been constructive and took place in a quiet and respectful environment,” the minister has known in statements collected by the Iranian official media. “No inappropriate language was used and the parties demonstrated their commitment to advance in conversations until reaching a desirable agreement for both parties and based on equality,” he said.
“We agree that the second round will be held next Saturday, and at the next meeting we will enter a general framework that can have an agreement and we will see how far this process can continue,” Araqchi concluded.
Previously, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has made known that negotiation has elapsed “in a constructive environment and based on mutual respect” together with the representation headed by North American Steve Witkoff envoy.
“The atmosphere of conversations between Iran and the United States has been positive,” the Iranian team made known, after a negotiation that has prolonged for about two and a half hours.
Moreover, although the negotiation format did not understand a direct meeting, the Iranian ministry has confirmed that Araqchi and Witkoff have ended up seeing their faces and exchanging impressions for a few minutes in the presence of the mediator, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, Badr al Busaidi.
These conversations are the first of this nature since the first administration of Donald Trump decided to unilaterally abandon in 2018 the so -called joint comprehensive action plan, historical nuclear agreement signed three years before between Tehran and the World powers (all members of the UN Security Council, Russia included, but Germany and the European Union).
The agreement committed Iran to guarantee the peaceful nature of its program in exchange for the withdrawal of sanctions and, therefore, its reinstatement to international markets.
Trump ended up leaving the agreement, an achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, after ensuring that the pact was not obtaining results and that Iran was about to get a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran’s constant denials.
Since then, Iran has been distanced more and more from its commitments acquired with the United Nations Nuclear Agency, the International Atomic Energy Organization. In November last year, and in response to a conviction resolution of the OIEA in this regard, Iran announced the activation “a substantial number” of new advanced centrifugers of uranium enrichment after condemning the warning as “politicized” and “destructive”.