Direct Iran-US talks in New York for first time in years: FT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Financial Times
3 Jun 2023 14:12

Diplomats and analysts reveal that "Rob Malley, the US’s Iran envoy, has met several times with Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani."

Rob Malley, US Administration special envoy for Iran, testifies about the JCPOA during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill, on May 25, 2022, in Washington, DC (AFP)

Western powers have restarted talks on how to interact with Iran on its nuclear program, the Financial Times reported.

"There is recognition that we need an active diplomatic plan to tackle Iran’s nuclear programme, rather than allowing it to drift," a Western diplomat told the news website.

In recent months, there has been communication between Iranian officials and the E3 (Germany, France, and the UK). In March, the group's officials met in Oslo, Norway, with Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani.

The Financial Times revealed that "Rob Malley, the US’s Iran envoy, has met several times with Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani," as per diplomats and analysts.

The talks are believed to be the first direct communication between US and Iranian officials since former US President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that Iran signed with international powers, the news website pointed out.

It cited a source close to the US administration as saying that the talks centered mostly on the potential of a prisoner swap deal with Iran, knowing that three Iranian-American nationals are currently held in Iran.

The news website recalled that US President Joe Biden vowed the US would come back to the nuclear deal and lift sanctions it imposed on Iran if the latter complied with the agreement.

However, US officials have since stated that the deal "is not on the agenda," implying that any agreement would be more restricted, the Financial Times mentioned.

Diplomats and observers suggested that alternatives include a temporary agreement or a de-escalatory step by both parties in which Iran decreases its uranium enrichment levels in exchange for partial sanctions relief, according to the news website.

The Financial Times cited another source briefed on the negotiations as saying that "the prisoner swap is going to be an opener for the talks."

"It is unlikely there will be a nuclear deal, but there could be some sort of interim thing, or a freeze," the source indicated.

The United States "always believed diplomacy is the best way to verifiably and durably ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon," the news website cited a Washington official as saying.

"But we have nothing to announce, and we have not removed any option from the table," the official noted.

This comes days after Axios cited five US, Israeli, and European sources as saying that Brett McGurk, senior Middle East advisor to Biden, traveled to Muscat on May 8 in order to examine prospective diplomatic outreach, in the shape of a Omani mediation, to Iran about its nuclear program.

Earlier in April, Axios had also reported that a possible proposal for an interim agreement with Iran was discussed between the US and its European and Israeli allies. Such a proposal would include partial sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to freeze parts of its nuclear program.

"The Omanis are holding proximity talks between the U.S. and Iran," a senior Israeli official told Axios.

A senior European diplomat told the news website that the "U.S. is working with the Omanis on the Iranian issue."

However, a White House National Security Council spokesperson claimed that "there is no U.S. discussion of an interim deal and no discussion of sanctions relief, or closing safeguards cases."