Iran’s roller-coaster ride of indirect talks is careening toward the fifth round this Friday. Tehran is considering how to continue playing its hand in these talks. It has seen some flexibility from the US, but it expected more.
In fact, Iran believed that during the first rounds in Oman and Rome, the US might rush into a deal that would enable it to keep its enrichment facilities and a lot of its nuclear program.
Tehran was ready to probably get rid of some of its enriched uranium and make other concessions, because it uses the nuclear program to wring concessions from the West.
Now, Iran is worried because the US has hardened its stance. Meanwhile, Israel seems to have slightly softened, so Iran knows it must find a course between Israel and the US to achieve the results it wants.
In Tehran, the parliament has “reaffirmed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, saying that the Islamic Republic has never sought, nor will it seek, to build an atomic bomb,” Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s official news agency, reported Thursday. “Members of parliament have stated that Iran will never back down from its right to use nuclear technology as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).”
The parliament is doing this ahead of the fifth round of talks, which are expected to take place in Rome. Rome and Oman have been the venues for the talks.
Oman has been hosting them and is bullish on the talks. It already helped end the US-Houthi conflict. Oman is a friend of Iran and other countries and tries to portray itself as neutral.
The parliament statement in Tehran
“Tehran and Washington have held four rounds of indirect talks in an effort to reach a potential agreement to replace the one that President Donald Trump withdrew the US from during his first term in office,” IRNA reported. “Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been leading the US delegation in the negotiations, said over the weekend that no agreement would be possible unless Iran abandoned its enrichment program.”
Iran says it will not give up its “right” to enrich uranium.
“Iran’s nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment, are entirely legal, legitimate, and in accordance with the provisions of the NPT and the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the [Iranian] lawmakers said,” IRNA reported.
Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
“Legally, the Islamic Republic of Iran must also benefit from the full nuclear fuel cycle, particularly in the field of enrichment,” the Iranian parliament said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the West must stop threatening “snapback” sanctions against Iran, referring to the European signatories of the 2015 Iran deal.
“In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Asharq News network on Wednesday, Araqhchi described uranium enrichment as a fundamental and principled issue, as well as a major scientific achievement by Iranian scientists,” IRNA reported. “He stressed that the enrichment program represents a major accomplishment developed by local scientists and holds immense value for the Iranian people.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has been tight-lipped on the talks to be held on Friday. On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei spoke briefly about the talks.
“Referring to the proposal put forward by Oman and its consultations to hold another round of Iran-US talks on Friday in the Italian capital of Rome, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Iran has agreed to the proposal,” IRNA reported.
“Baqaei said that the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined and steadfast in pursuing the supreme rights and interests of the Iranian nation to benefit from peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment, and the lifting of the sanctions, and will spare no effort or initiative in this regard.”