Observing the World · US Iran Relations | Media Exposes US Iran's Secret Talks on Informal Nuclear Agreement Negotiations | US | US Iran

Beijing, June 15 (Xinhua) - The New York Times reported on the 14th that the United States has been secretly negotiating with Iran to restrict Iran's nuclear program and release imprisoned American citizens, using officials from the United States, Iran, and Israel as sources. This is one of the measures taken by the United States to ease tensions with Iran and reduce the risk of military confrontation.

The US goal is to reach an "informal, unwritten" agreement, which some Iranian officials refer to as a "political ceasefire.".

Both parties' conditions

According to reports, the conditions agreed upon by Iran to reach an agreement include maintaining the current 60% enriched uranium abundance without further increase.

Enriched uranium with an abundance of over 90% can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons, and the United States has set this abundance as a red line for "being forced to respond harshly.".

Iranian officials have also promised that regional armed groups associated with them will suspend attacks on US military contractors in Syria and Iraq, strengthen cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, and not sell ballistic missiles to Russia.

On March 25, 2020, in Tehran, Iran, two men wearing masks walked past the Freedom Tower. Shen Jizhong

As an exchange, Iran hopes that the United States will avoid imposing new sanctions on Iran, no longer detain foreign oil tankers, and not seek to pass new punitive resolutions on Iran's nuclear activities at the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iranian officials also hope to release three Iranian American citizens in exchange for the US unfreezing billions of dollars of Iraqi assets dedicated to humanitarian aid.

Regarding the release of imprisoned US personnel, US officials only acknowledge that this is an urgent matter, but are unwilling to disclose more details, nor have they confirmed that the release of prisoners is related to the unfreezing of Iranian assets or nuclear issues.

However, The New York Times reported that the US State Department last week authorized Iraq to repay $2.76 billion in energy debt to Iran. The US side requests that this fund be specifically distributed to third-party suppliers approved by the US side in order to provide medicine and food to Iranian citizens.

Iranian officials and multiple insiders have revealed that Iran also hopes to use the release of prisoners in exchange for approximately $7 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea to be unfrozen and deposited into a bank in Qatar for humanitarian purposes. Iranian Finance Minister Ihsan Handuzi told Iran's Tasnim News Agency on the 13th that Iran will soon retrieve the funds from South Korea.

Indirect contact

According to reports, some indirect talks were held in the Gulf country of Oman. This indicates that the US and Iran have resumed diplomatic contacts after negotiations on the resumption of compliance with the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue have stalled.

Iranian officials have refused to directly meet with US officials in resuming compliance negotiations.

Insiders have revealed that the United States resumed diplomatic contacts with Iran at the end of last year. The US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Marley, met twice with Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Said Irawani. On the 12th, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that White House Middle East Affairs Coordinator Brett McGregor went to Oman in early May to hold indirect talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bageri and others.

This is the scene of the Political Director level meeting of the Joint Committee on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Issue, filmed on December 27, 2021 in Vienna, Austria. Shen Jizhong

According to the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran promises to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium to no more than 3.67% in exchange for the lifting of sanctions by the international community. In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and subsequently restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iraq. Since May 2019, Iran has gradually suspended the fulfillment of some provisions of the agreement, but has promised to take "reversible" measures.

Since April 2021, the parties involved in the Iran nuclear agreement have held multiple rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna to discuss the resumption of US Iran compliance, with the US indirectly participating in the negotiations.

Change of stance

Earlier on the 14th, the Wall Street Journal of the United States also revealed that the US and Iran are secretly negotiating a nuclear agreement, and White House officials have traveled to Oman at least three times for this. However, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller accused the report of being a "false and misleading rumor" on the same day.

According to an analysis by The New York Times, Miller's denial may only be "semantic" because multiple officials have defined the outcome of the US Iran negotiations as "informal understanding" to avoid seeking approval from the US Congress, which is deeply hostile towards Iran.

On the 14th, Iranian media quoted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that if Iran's nuclear infrastructure remains intact, he is willing to support reaching an agreement with the West.

The statement from the Permanent Mission of Iran to the United Nations to The New York Times, although refusing to disclose details of the Iran US negotiations, stated that "it is important to create a new atmosphere and move forward from the current situation.".