Iran demands that US lift sanctions during nuclear treaty negotiations

Initially, Iran demanded that sanctions be lifted before the beginning of talks but was compelled to compromise.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

As Iran and the US prepare to engage in talks about Tehran’s nuclear program, there are many gaps between the demands of each side, as evidenced by Iran’s insistence that sanctions be reduced even before a final agreement is reached.

In the past few days, the two sides have disputed the format of the talks in Oman, with the US insisting on direct discussions and Iranian officials declaring that the negotiations would be indirect.

Tehran now demands that the US begin to lift sanctions while the talks are ongoing rather than waiting to suspend them until Iran has agreed to halt its nuclear program.

Initially, Iran demanded that sanctions be lifted before the beginning of talks but was compelled to compromise.

Additionally, the Trump Administration has discussed increasing sanctions against Iran ahead of the talks.

Trump Administration special envoy Steven Witkoff insists that the talks must be direct, and he indicated a willingness to travel to Tehran for the negotiations.

However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Mohammad Pezeshkian insisted that discussionwith the US would only occur through Oman’s Foreign Ministry as a mediator.

Iran is attempting to limit the scope of the negotiations and has demanded that any discussion of missiles and funding terrorist organizations be kept off the table.

According to Israeli and American sources, the intention is to discuss missiles, particularly Iran’s long-range missiles supplied by its ally Russia. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said missiles will be discussed to “determine what limits can be allowed.”

The US also aims to address the issue of terror funding. Iran has reportedly supplied Hezbollah and Shi’ite militias in Iraq with long-range missiles.

However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry refused to entertain any suggestion that Iran has influence over these groups and recommended that the US speak directly to the militias.

The US is demanding that Iran be restricted from developing a nuclear bomb, while Iran insists that it is developing uranium only for civilian purposes. Despite such claims, Tehran has been engaged in covert uranium enrichment projects while ramping up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, which has no application beyond nuclear weapons.