Agreement or understanding?
These steps can be described as an “understanding” rather than an agreement that requires consideration by the US Congress, as many oppose granting benefits to Iran for its military assistance to Russia and of its support for proxies attacking American interests in the region. Having failed to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Washington hopes to reinstate some restrictions on Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran says it does not aspire to develop a nuclear weapon. US and European officials have sought ways to curb Tehran’s nuclear efforts since the breakdown of US-Iranian proxy talks. State Department spokesman Matt Miller denied any agreement with Iran. However, he said Washington wanted Tehran to deescalate tensions, curb its nuclear program, stop supporting regional groups carrying out proxy attacks, stop supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine and release detained US citizens. Reuters quoted the US official as saying, “We continue to use diplomatic means of communication to achieve all of these goals,” without going into specifics.
Blinken artwork
On Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken denied any agreement between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, stressing that press reports that spoke of such a deal were “inaccurate”. “As far as Iran is concerned, some of the reports we’ve seen on a deal on nuclear issues or on detainees are just plain inaccurate and incorrect,” Blinken said in response to a question at a news conference. .
De-escalation
“Call it what you want, whether it’s an interim agreement, an interim agreement or a joint agreement,” an Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “Both sides want to prevent further escalation.” He added that initially “this will include the exchange of prisoners and the release of some of the frozen Iranian assets”. Reuters quoted the Iranian official as saying other measures could include exemptions from U.S. Iran-linked sanctions to export oil in exchange for halting 60% uranium enrichment, and greater cooperation Iran with the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency.
Calm
“I would call it calming understanding,” said a Western official, who requested anonymity. US special envoy for Iran Rob Malley also met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, after months of Iran’s refusal to communicate directly. “Our goal is to use diplomacy to properly and realistically understand the situation and try to find solutions to prevent tensions and manage the current situation,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said when asked about the discussions that took place. “The key to the success of this path is to reduce the role of opponents to the diplomatic channel,” the Iranian mission told Reuters.
situation acceptable to all
The Western official said the idea was to create a status quo acceptable to all, to get Iran to avoid the Western red line of 90% purity enrichment, which is generally considered a weapon, and can – even to “stop” his enrichment at 60%.
He went on to say that in addition to stopping at 60%, the two sides were discussing greater Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and not installing more advanced centrifuges in exchange for a “significant transfer” of Iranian funds located abroad.
The official did not say whether the halt meant that Iran would commit not to enrich itself above 60%, or that it would stop enriching itself at the same 60%.
Avoid an Iranian-Israeli confrontation
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday the two countries could soon swap prisoners if Washington shows good will, adding that talks are underway through mediators, without going into details. Iran’s mission to the United Nations has yet to respond to a request for detailed comment. The Western official said the primary US goal is to prevent the nuclear situation from deteriorating and avert a possible confrontation between Israel and Iran. “If the Iranians are wrong, the possibility of a strong Israeli response is something we want to avoid,” he added.
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