Tehran: Iranian foreign minister will travel to Russia this week to hold talks on the country’s nuclear program, just days before a brand new indirect negotiation with the United States.
On Saturday, Abbas Araghchi held talks with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, the highest negotiations since the 2015 nuclear deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who withdrew the deal, has brought Iran back to the spotlight since returning to office in January.
In March, he wrote a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for nuclear talks and warning that it could warn of possible military operations if Tehran refused.
Western countries, including the United States, have long suspected Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons – Tehran has long denied a charge that insists that its plan is for peaceful purposes.
Russia, a close ally of Iran and a party that dealt in 2015, has been engaged to Tehran in recent weeks over its nuclear program.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said: “Dr. Araghchi will travel to Moscow this weekend.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said Araghchi will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and other officials.
Both Iran and the United States described Saturday’s discussion as “constructive.”
Moscow welcomes Iran-US negotiations as it pushes for diplomatic solutions and warns that military confrontation will be a “global disaster.”
Another round of negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held in Oman on Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman told the official IRNA news agency. Rome was earlier considered a possible place.
“Red Line”
Bazi said the next set of talks would continue to be related to Oman mediation, adding that direct negotiations were “ineffective” and “useless.” Oman’s foreign minister shuttled between the two delegations in the last negotiation.
Baqaei has previously stated that the only focus of the next negotiations is “nuclear issues and lifting sanctions” and that Iran “will not engage in any negotiations with the United States on any other issue.”
Later on Sunday, IRNA reported that Tehran’s regional influence and its missile capabilities were one of its “red lines” in negotiations.
Washington imposed picky sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from its 2015 contract three years later.
After Trump evacuated, Iran continued to comply with the agreement for one year, but later began to revoke its compliance.
Iran has been denied that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Trump addressed reporters on Monday to reporters about Iran, saying “I will solve this problem” and “it’s almost easy.”
However, it is unclear whether his remarks specifically refer to nuclear negotiations or the broader issues involving the Islamic Republic.
Baqaei reiterated that Iran will host Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear regulator, in the coming days, but pointed out that the details of his trip are still being “decided”.
In an article on X, Grossi confirmed that he will travel to Tehran “later this week”.
“Continuous participation and cooperation with the agency is crucial in a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” he said.
IRNA later reported that Grossi will arrive on Wednesday and meet with Iran’s head of the Iranian Nuclear Energy Agency, Aragic and Mohamed Eslami.
The head of the IAEA met with President Masoud Pezeshkian in November and visited Iran in November.
IAEA said in its latest quarterly report that Iran estimated 274.8 kg (605 pounds) of uranium enrichment is as high as 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 transaction and close to the 90% threshold required for weapons-grade materials.
