Ankara, Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the United States and Iran are showing flexibility on a nuclear deal, with Washington appearing willing to tolerate some Iranian enrichment within defined limits.
Fidan comments on enrichment and negotiation limits
In an interview published Thursday by the Financial Times, Fidan said it was positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries. He said Iran recognises it needs to reach a deal with the United States, and that Washington understands Iran has certain limits.
Washington has until now demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% considered weapons grade.
Iran’s position and potential restrictions
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran would continue to demand the lifting of financial sanctions and insist on its nuclear rights, including enrichment.
Fidan said he believed Tehran genuinely wants to reach a real agreement and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspection regime, as it did in the 2015 agreement with the United States and others.
Oman-mediated talks and regional military posture
U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks through Omani mediators in Oman last week to revive diplomacy, after President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action.
Trump said Tuesday he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as Washington and Tehran prepared to resume negotiations.
Warning against expanding talks
Fidan cautioned that broadening the Iran-U.S. talks to ballistic missiles would bring “nothing but another war.”
The U.S. State Department and the White House did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
What should be included in any renewed Iran-U.S. agreement, in your view?