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Iran’s nuclear energy chief said the country is willing to dilute its highly enriched uranium if the United States ends sanctions, indicating that it is willing to respond flexibly to major U.S. demands.
Mohammad Eslami told reporters on Monday in comments to reporters that Iran’s chances of diluting 60% enriched uranium, a threshold close to weapons-grade, depended on “all sanctions being lifted in return,” according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Eslami did not say whether Iran expected all sanctions to be lifted, or specifically sanctions imposed by the United States.
Diluting uranium means mixing it with a blending material to reduce its enrichment. According to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, Iran is the only country without a nuclear weapon capable of enriching uranium by 60%.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for Iran to be subject to a complete ban on enrichment, a condition unacceptable to Tehran and far less favorable than the now-expired nuclear deal reached with world powers in 2015.
Iran claims it has a right to a civilian nuclear program under the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it and 190 other countries are signatories to.
Eslami made the comments on uranium enrichment as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Chairman Ali Larijani prepares to leave for Oman, where he is hosting U.S.-Iran-mediated talks on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, said Larijani, one of the senior Iranian government officials, was likely to deliver a message related to the ongoing talks.
President Trump said talks with Iran will continue this week.
Negotiations are ‘very serious’
Both the United States and Iran have given mixed signals about progress in negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was “very serious about the negotiations” and keen to “achieve results.” However, he said, “The wall of distrust toward the United States stems from America’s own actions.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the ongoing negotiations are “an important opportunity to reach a fair and balanced solution,” according to IRNA. He emphasized that Iran is seeking “guarantees for its nuclear rights” and for the lifting of “unjust sanctions.”
President Trump praised the latest round of talks on Friday as “very good” but continued to warn Iran of “serious consequences” if a deal is not reached.
“They want a deal because they’re supposed to want a deal,” the US president said. “They know the consequences of not doing so.”
Before the two countries agreed to talks, Trump had repeatedly threatened Iran with an attack “much worse” than the U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June. He increased pressure by sending an aircraft carrier and accompanying warships to the Middle East.
President Trump is expected to meet on Wednesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has urged the United States to take a tough stance in negotiations with Iran, demanding concessions not only on its nuclear program but also on ballistic missiles and regional alliances.
Andreas Krieg, associate professor of security studies at King’s College London, said that although the risk of conflict remains high, the United States and Iran appear to be “closer to a deal” than they were a few weeks ago.
Krieg told Al Jazeera: “President Trump’s so-called (U.S.) ‘armada’ still exists in the region, and we still have American coercion against the (Iranian) regime.” “But it appears that the pressure is working and the Iranian side needs to make concessions.”
“The messages from the Gulf states, Qatar, Oman have all been very positive from everyone involved, including the Americans. And the Iranian feedback itself has been very positive.”
“I think the question we have now is how do we take this momentum that we have now in the strategic framework and translate it into the details?”
