Dutch FM praises Oman’s role in US-Iran nuclear talks

A member of Iran's parliamentary economic committee said that indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States are disrupting the business of a small number of people who oppose dialogue.

Ahmad Anaraki-Mohammadi told Rouydad24 news website that the lives of 85 million Iranians should not be affected for the sake of what he described as profiteers of sanctions.

The lawmaker argued that the ongoing indirect talks are upsetting the financial interests of a small group within Iran whose "bread is being turned to brick," a local idiom signifying their livelihoods are being destroyed. "The lives of 85 million Iranians are not supposed to be sacrificed for the sake of this limited number," he asserted.

The divide among Iran's ultraconservatives began at least a month before the latest round of Iran-US talks, but it has since escalated into an open rift, with most hardliners now backing away from their earlier opposition to negotiations.

Explore the full story behind Iran's conservative divide here.

Iran’s Javan newspaper, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said Tehran could reach a limited nuclear agreement with the United States without compromising its revolutionary ideals or anti-imperialist stance.

“Maybe Iran does not want the image of a 'fighter against imperialism' that has formed in the world’s mind over the past half-century to be erased — but who says that if the agreement is limited to lifting sanctions in exchange for reducing enrichment, that image will be erased?” the editorial said.

Javan also dismissed the idea that any negotiations with the US inevitably lead to normalization or surrender, calling such views exaggerated. It said a partial agreement was plausible, even if some aspects of it remained undisclosed.

Recent comments by US envoy Steve Witkoff suggest that Washington's goals in the ongoing talks with Iran go somewhat beyond those of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama—but without representing a radical departure.

Unpack the full analysis here.

The Kremlin on Tuesday declined to comment on whether Russia would be willing to take Iran’s enriched uranium as part of a potential future nuclear deal with the United States, according to Reuters.

The Guardian reported earlier that Tehran is expected to reject a US proposal to transfer its uranium stockpile to a third country, such as Russia, under a plan aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.

Russia was a signatory to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.