Iran: talks with the USA in Geneva, "an immediate agreement is at hand"

Trapela optimism in Geneva, where are the nuclear talks between Iranian and US delegations.The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei, called the talks “serious and intense”. The third round of negotiations focuses exclusively on Tehran’s nuclear program and the withdrawal of US sanctions against Iran, the spokesperson specified. “The subject of the negotiations is centered on the nuclear issue,” he said, adding that Tehran will push for the lifting of sanctions and the affirmation of Iran’s right “to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.” The Iranian delegation conveyed these views to Oman’s foreign minister, who is mediating the talks.

Tehran: “Agreement within reach”

“If the main issue of the negotiations is to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, this would be in line with the supreme leader’s fatwa and Iran’s defense doctrine, and an immediate agreement is within reach,” said Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, the Guardian reported. The adviser added that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the Geneva talks for Tehran, has “sufficient support and authority to secure this agreement.”

Pezeshkian, we’re not trying to have a nuclear bomb

Iran is “not at all” trying to acquire a nuclear weapon. The president, Masoud Pezeshkian, assured this. “Our Supreme Leader has already declared that we will not have nuclear weapons,” he said, referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But while Iran insists that talks focus exclusively on its nuclear program, the United States also wants a reduction in Tehran’s missile program and its support for pro-Iranian groups in the region.

Trump has accused Iran of “pursuing sinister nuclear ambitions”, although Tehran has always insisted that its program is for civilian purposes. Trump also said that Tehran has “already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases abroad, and is working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry called these claims “big lies” and assured that the maximum range of its missiles is 2,000 kilometers. However, the US Congressional Research Service estimates they reach 3,000 kilometers, less than a third of the distance from the continental United States.

Before today’s talks, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio He warned that Iran must also negotiate over its missile program, calling any refusal “a big, big problem.”