Iran sees progress toward US nuclear talks as tension eases

DUBAI — Iran has said that it expects progress on a framework to restart nuclear talks with the United States as reports suggest the country’s president has ordered the revival of the negotiations.Talks with the US should be pursued to secure national interests as long as “threats and unreasonable expectations” are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday.”Taking into account demands from friendly regional countries to respond to the US President’s suggestion for talks, I instructed the foreign minister to prepare the ground for equitable and fair negotiations … should an atmosphere free of threats and unreasonable expectations arise,” Pezeshkian said.Tehran said on Monday that it was examining several diplomatic processes pitched by countries in the region to ease tensions with Washington.The announcement comes as Tehran and Washington appear to be pulling back from the threat of military action.The Reuters news agency, citing unnamed Iranian and US officials, said Tehran and Washington ‍will hold talks on Friday in Istanbul, which will be attended by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi.US President Donald Trump sent warships to the Middle East after Iran violently cracked down on mass protests in January, but then called for Tehran to make a deal to resume talks on its nuclear program, which were abandoned in June when Israel and the US attacked Iran.On Sunday, Trump said the US was talking with Iran. Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has now confirmed that indirect negotiations are ongoing.“Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages,” he said on Monday without giving details on the content of the negotiations.“Several points have been addressed, and we are examining and finalising the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days.”The state news agency IRNA reported that Foreign Minister Araghchi held telephone calls with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye to discuss the latest developments.Meanwhile, a White House official said ⁠Witkoff would ​arrive in ‍Israel on Tuesday, where he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported.The reports of scheduled talks come as Iran has been bracing for a potential US attack, as US aircraft carriers and fighter jets are sitting in the Indian Ocean, close enough to assist a strike.Iranian sources told Reuters that for talks to resume, Trump has demanded that Iran agree to end enrichment of uranium, curtail its missile programme and halt support to its network of allied armed groups in the region.In the past, Iran has shown flexibility in discussing the nuclear file, but missiles and regional allies have long been treated as nonnegotiable.It is not clear whether Iran will change its position now that the country urgently needs sanctions relief to improve the economy and stave off future unrest.In June, American and Iranian officials kicked off negotiations in Oman, but the process stalled after Israel attacked Iran and then the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. — Agencies