Iran's Araghchi says agreement possible if US shows 'sufficient will'

Tehran, April 8 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday the upcoming indirect negotiations with the United States on Iran's nuclear programme can lead to an agreement, provided that Washington demonstrates the "necessary and sufficient" political will, according to Iran's IRIB news agency.

He made the remarks a few hours after confirming in a post on social media platform X that Iran and the United States would meet in Oman on Saturday for "indirect high-level talks".

Araghchi said, "At present, our preference is to hold the negotiations indirectly and we have no intention of turning them into direct ones," adding that if the other side has the "necessary and sufficient will," an agreement can be reached, whether direct or indirect.

He added that the ball is now in the US court.

Araghchi emphasised that Iran's nuclear programme was completely "peaceful and legitimate," adding Iran was ready to resolve any existing ambiguity about its nuclear activities.

He said he would represent Iran in the negotiations and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff would be the US representative.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump, during a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, claimed that "direct talks" with Iran were set to take place.

The discrepancy over whether the talks are direct or indirect has persisted since early March, when Trump stated he had sent a letter to Iranian leaders -- via the United Arab Emirates -- proposing direct negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, Xinhua news agency reported.

While Iran later confirmed receiving the letter, it rejected face-to-face talks, though it left the door open for indirect engagement.

Trump, in an interview with NBC News in late March, threatened to launch "unprecedented military strikes" on Iran if it refused to negotiate over its nuclear programme.

Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.

--IANS

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