Iran says potential energy, mining and aircraft deals on table in talks with US

Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the US that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday (15 February), days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.

Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The US has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters.

"For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the US also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns," foreign ministry deputy director for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran has threatened retaliation against any US attack, but the official struck a conciliatory note on Sunday.

"Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations," Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers had not secured US economic interests.

In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the pact that had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, and re-applied tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

On Friday, a source told Reuters that a US delegation, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,r would meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday, a meeting later confirmed to Reuters by a senior Iranian official on Sunday.

While talks leading to the 2015 nuclear pact were multilateral, the current negotiations are confined to Iran and the United States, with Oman acting as mediator.

OPEN TO COMPROMISE

Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signalled Iran's readiness to compromise on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, telling the BBC on Sunday that the ball was "in America's court to prove that they want to do a deal."

The senior official referred to the Iranian atomic chief's statement on Monday that the country could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions as an example of Iran's flexibility.

However, he reiterated that Tehran would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in past negotiations, with Washington viewing enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking such weapons.

In June, the US joined Israel in a series of air strikes that targeted Iranian nuclear sites.

The US is also stepping up economic pressure on Iran. At a White House meeting earlier this week, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that the US would work to reduce Iran's oil exports to China, Axios reported on Saturday (14 February).

China accounts for more than 80% of Iran's oil exports, so any reduction in that trade would significantly lower Iran's oil revenue.