TABNAK, Dec 23: Before Trump’s coming to power, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had said, “We are negotiating based on national interests and that it makes no difference to Iran who is in power in the US.”
Recently, Iraqi media outlet “Baghdad Al-Youm” has quoted a source close to the Iranian government as claiming that “Iran received a message from the US administration in the past few days through Oman, which is considered an important channel in the exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington.”
“Donald Trump’s message to Iranian officials includes his readiness to negotiate with Tehran and the possibility of reaching a nuclear agreement other than the one reached in 2015 and from which Trump withdrew in 2018,” the source told Baghdad Al-Yom.
“Trump will not wait more than a few months to receive a response from Iranian officials about their readiness to negotiate on various files, including the nuclear file. The US message shows that Trump is very serious about direct and high-level negotiations with Iran early in his term in office. If Iran agrees, there is a possibility of an agreement, but there is no guarantee that the US will adhere to it if an agreement is reached,” the Iranian source added.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also announced on Sunday that he hopes Trump would use the current opportunity to reach an agreement with Iran.
"There are voices in Iran that openly want to obtain nuclear weapons after the fall of the Assad government. I explained to the Trump team about the danger of Iran's nuclear program and consulted with the Israelis about it,” he said.
Hossein Moussavian, a former Iranian diplomat, also believes that Trump who will officially begin his term in about a month is likely to announce his readiness for direct, high-level talks with Iran.
“If Iran accepts and comprehensive talks begin, there is a possibility of an agreement, although there will be no guarantee that even if an agreement is reached, the United States will adhere to it. The United States has not given such a guarantee to any country in bilateral or international agreements. After all, if we look at it realistically, countries decide to secure their own national interests and in specific circumstances, choosing between bad and worse. Of course, if the agreement is comprehensive, we can be more optimistic about its sustainability. If the agreement is single-issue, the possibility of America's breach of promise will be very high,” he said.
Moreover, Araqchi told the Egyptian Al-Ghad channel on Friday, “We are still waiting for the decision of the parties with whom we entered into negotiations, which were three European countries, China, Russia, and the American side, which withdrew from this group.’
“We are fully confident that our nuclear file is peaceful and we have no obstacle to the participation of others, and even after the US withdrew from the negotiations, we did not leave the negotiating table at all and are always ready to resume honorable negotiations based on respect and mutual benefits.”
Araqchi in an article on Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar wrote, “From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reviving the nuclear agreement program and keeping the spirit of trust and consensus alive among each of the 5+1 members is a suitable solution to start a new stage and achieve a fruitful result.”
“Regarding Trump’s presidency, we should wait for more signs,” he sid.
Before Trump came to power, Araqchi had said that we will negotiate based on national interests and that it makes no difference to Iran who is in power in the United States.
Recently, Ali Larijani, advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in an interview with the Khamenei.ir website said: “You have two more options; one is to return to the same agreement that was approved - well, Iran has always told you to come back and fix your mistake, of course, you must also cover our losses in some way. Another option is that, okay, don’t you accept it? Because I heard the new US administration say, “We do not accept that agreement at all, because the Iranians tricked us!” That revelation is not the end, so let’s move on to the new issue: You say, “We accept a nuclear Iran. There is nothing wrong with it not going for a bomb!”; We have enrichment at this level, so let's agree that Iran has some conditions for this, considering our past experience, we are not going towards a bomb, you also accept our conditions. Make the next agreement; therefore, we do not recommend that you continue your previous wrong behavior. But anyway, this is also a solution. Let's use this solution,” he said referring to the Trump administration team.
He also emphasized that on the nuclear issue, the United States broke the previous agreement (JCPOA) and withdrew from it, thereby it caused damage to Iran and secondly Iran began its enrichment and increased the purity level to above 60%.
"Third, the two sides are in a new situation, if the new US officials say that they are only against nuclear weapons on the Iranian nuclear issue, they must accept Iran's conditions in return and make the necessary concessions, including "compensation for Iran's losses," to reach a new agreement instead of issuing unilateral resolutions such as their decisions made in the IAEA," he continued.
