Negotiators on both sides reported that they achieved a lot of ground in the course of Thursday’s session, which was reported by Oman Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi who indicated that both sides made significant progress in the negotiation process that has been dominated by tension in other weeks.
US-Iran Talks Show Momentum As Third Round In Geneva Ends With ‘Significant Progress’; Next Meeting Set For Vienna, Oman’s FM Confirms
The talks, which were mediated by Oman, featured high ranking participants such as US special envoys and the Iranian foreign ministry officials, and concerned technical and substantive elements of nuclear limits and sanctions relief. Having completed the Geneva round, Albusaidi told us that technical discussions would continue next week in Vienna, indicating that a wave toward a diplomatic solution continued.
Although the Geneva tone is positive, there are still underlying differences on major areas of concern in the nuclear dispute and issues on security in general. Iran has stated its nuclear programs are peaceful and within their mandate as established by international treaties whereas the United States has been adamant that more restraint be placed on the enrichment and further control of enrichment especially on ballistic missiles and local proxies. Past statements by Iranian leaders suggested that a solution is not far off so long as both parties emphasize diplomacy, explaining how fragile and complicated the talks have been. In the background of the negotiations, there is an augmented US military presence in the Middle East which Tehran sees as an aggressive gesture, but this is the larger picture of the two nations’ cold war with each other.
US-Iran Tensions
Although the developments in Geneva and the scheduled subsequent negotiations in Vienna are like a ray of hope taken with a lot of caution, analysts caution that an agreement will have serious concessions by both Washington and Tehran. The fact that negotiators will now resume will be a balance between diplomacy and strategic tensions in the future of the US-Iran relations and the security of the region.
