US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied on Friday that negotiations between Washington and Tehran to curtail Iran’s nuclear program and free American detainees were close to completion.
In response to a question on indirect negotiations mediated by Oman, Blinken stated that “some of the reports that we’ve seen regarding an agreement on nuclear matters or, for that matter, on detainees, are simply not accurate and not true.”
On the nuclear side, he said that Washington is determined to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
“We remain convinced that the best way to do that is through diplomacy. But we continue to believe that diplomacy would be the most effective path forward, but there is no agreement, and reports to the contrary or simply inaccurate,” the US Secretary of State affirmed.
An agency affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council said earlier that the ongoing dialogue between Tehran and Washington through intermediaries increases the possibility of releasing US prisoners in return for the release of Iran's frozen assets.
Meanwhile, Iranian and Western officials told Reuters that the United States is holding talks with Iran to sketch out steps that could limit the Iranian nuclear program, release some detained US citizens and unfreeze some Iranian assets abroad.
These steps would be cast as an “understanding” rather than an agreement requiring review by the US Congress, where many lawmakers oppose giving Iran benefits because of its military aid to Russia, its domestic repression and its support for proxies that have attacked US interests in the region.
US officials appear to avoid saying they are seeking an “agreement” because of a 2015 law under which Congress must get the text of any accord about Iran's nuclear program, opening a window for legislators to review and potentially vote on it.
US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican, wrote to Biden, a Democrat, on Thursday, saying “any arrangement or understanding with Iran, even informal, requires submission to Congress.”
Having failed to revive a 2015 Iran nuclear deal, US President Joe Biden's administration hopes to restore some limits on Iran to keep it from getting a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel and trigger a regional arms race. Iran says it has no ambition to develop a nuclear weapon.
The US government has dismissed reports it is seeking an interim deal, using carefully constructed denials that leave open the possibility of a less formal “understanding” that could avoid congressional review.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller denied there was any deal with Iran.
However, Miller said the United States wants Iran to de-escalate tensions and curb its nuclear program, cease support for regional proxy groups that carry out attacks, halt support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and release detained American citizens.
“We continue to use diplomatic engagements to pursue all of these goals,” Miller added, without giving details.
An Iranian official said, “Call it whatever you want, whether a temporary deal, an interim deal or a mutual understanding - both sides want to prevent further escalation,” according to Reuters.
In the first instance, “that will involve prisoner exchange and unblocking part of Iran's frozen assets”, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Further steps might include US sanctions waivers for Iran to export oil in return for ceasing 60% uranium enrichment and greater Iranian cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the official said.
In Tehran, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrouz Kamalvand said on Thursday that Iran has reinstalled several cameras at Iranian nuclear facilities.
“As many as 29 cameras and devices had been removed, about 10 of which were reinstalled in Natanz [nuclear enrichment plant] in accordance with the agreement,” Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Surveillance cameras were also brought back into operation at a centrifuge manufacturing workshop in Isfahan Province, according to the spokesman.
“This center is the same production line in Karaj, which was relocated to a safer place after the sabotage,” he said.
Kamalvandi noted, however, that the footage from the cameras will not be accessible for the agency and will be kept in Iran until an agreement is reached on the JCPOA.
Meanwhile, the Iranian news agency Nournews, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, posted on Twitter a series of tweets about talks between Washington and Iran through intermediaries. They suggested a breakthrough in the case of the Americans detained in Tehran, in return for obtaining its frozen assets abroad.
The tweets did not address the potential nuclear concessions that Western sources had mentioned.
In this context, the news agency was seeking to publish a version of what was going on behind the scenes different from the image drawn by the US media.
At the same time, the tweets carry a message from the Supreme National Security Council, which is ruled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The news agency stated that Iran’s policy over the past few months changed the political dynamics and yielded Western negotiations and concessions.
Meanwhile, a Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters “I'd call it a cooling-down understanding.”
This official added that there had been more than one round of indirect talks in Oman between US National Security Council official Brett McGurk and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani.
US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley has also met Iran's ambassador to the United Nations after months of Iran refusing direct contact.
The Western official said the idea was to create a status quo acceptable for all, getting Iran to avoid the Western redline of enriching to 90% purity, commonly viewed as weapons grade, and possibly even to "pause" its enrichment at 60%.
In addition to the 60% pause, both sides are discussing more Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and not installing more advanced centrifuges in return for the "substantial transfer" of Iranian funds held abroad, the official added.
The official did not specify whether the pause meant Iran would commit not to enrich above 60% or whether it would stop enriching to 60% itself.
The Western official said the key US objective is to keep the nuclear situation from worsening and to avoid a potential clash between Israel and Iran.
“If (the) Iranians miscalculate, the potential for a strong Israeli response is something that we want to avoid,” the official said.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Haaretz that the Biden administration regularly updates Israel on its indirect talks with Iran, including the talks that took place in Oman last month.
He said the Israeli government hasn't yet decided on a definitive position on these talks. The same official also strongly denied allegations that Israel was somehow trying to sabotage the talks by leaking sensitive information.
