Iran: Nuclear Deal With America Can Be Achieved As Long As Washington Is Realistic

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi/PHOTO Hamed Michelpour via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Iran believes the deal on its nuclear program with the United States may be reached as long as Washington is realistic.

This was conveyed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi ahead of the second round of negotiations with the Trump administration.

"If they show seriousness and are not making unrealistic demands, reaching an agreement is possible," Araqchi told a news conference in Moscow after negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Iran noted the United States' seriousness during the first round of talks on the deal, which took place in Oman last week, Araqchi said.

The second round is scheduled for Saturday in Rome and will be held through Foreign Minister Oman Badr al-Busaidi, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

"Given the conflicting positions we have heard from various US officials over the past few days, we hope the US side first provides an explanation in this regard and eliminates the serious ambiguities that have emerged regarding its intentions and seriousness," Baghaei told state media without elaborating.

Iran told the United States in talks last week it was ready to accept some limits on its uranium enrichment but needed strong assurance that President Donald Trump would no longer ignore nuclear pacts.

Trump previously threatened to attack Iran if it did not reach an agreement with the US on its nuclear program, which Iran says is peaceful but according to the West it aims to make an atomic bomb.

"I support Iran's cessation, very simply, from possessing nuclear weapons. They cannot have nuclear weapons. I want Iran to be large and prosperous and great," Trump told reporters on Friday when asked if he would consider letting Tehran defend its civilian nuclear program.