Reports: Iran in contact with US for new nuclear negotiations

DPA
·3 min read
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A Jam-e Jam daily newspaper featuring an illustrated image of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles on its front page on Palestine Square in downtown Tehran. Israel on 14 April hailed its air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying the systems thwarted 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory. Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran is in contact with the United States in order to resume nuclear negotiations, according to media reports.

Under the headline "Saving the agreement in the midst of a war crisis," the daily newspaper Shargh cited informed sources in a report as saying that the Iranian UN mission in New York is coordinating the talks.

According to Shargh, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri is no longer leading the negotiations, but Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian confirmed on Saturday that talks on the nuclear agreement had also been held during his stay in New York but he did not provide any further details, including whether the talks were held with US representatives or not.

However, he did say that Iran was interested in a "diplomatic solution" to the conflicts in the Middle East.

According to commentators, the leadership in Tehran wants to use the recent military conflict with arch-enemy Israel as leverage to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement, negotiated under former US president Barack Obama's administration. In return for a de-escalation demanded by the West, there will be new nuclear negotiations. The aim is to lift the sanctions that are paralysing Iran.

The planned visit to Tehran by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is also being categorized in the same context.

Israel carried out a retaliatory attack on Iran's Isfahan province on Friday, according to media reports. Isfahan is not only home to the Natanz nuclear facility, where Iran enriches uranium, but also to the Shahid Babaei Air Base.

Britain's BBC reported on the basis of analysed satellite images that a central part of the S-300 air-defence system at the base had been hit in the attack. An Iranian army spokesman denied that and said there had been no damage to the nuclear facility or the air base.

Israel's limited military strike followed an attack by Iran on Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles on April 13. This followed the death of two Iranian generals in an attack on an embassy building in the Syrian capital Damascus. This attack was attributed to Israel.

It is a long-standing practice of Israel not to comment publicly on reports of foreign missions.

Following the JCPOA nuclear deal of 2015 and the lifting of sanctions, the ailing Iranian economy experienced a brief upturn. Oil exports in particular, the country's main source of income, returned to relative normality.

However, since the US withdrew from the deal in 2018 - under then-president Donald Trump - and new sanctions were imposed, the oil-rich country has been mired in the worst financial crisis in its history. The national currency, the rial, has lost more than 60% in value since then.