Iranian president says new talks will offer ‘appropriate opportunity for a fair and balanced resolution of this case’<\/p>\n
A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, during the \u2018National Day of Nuclear Technology,\u2019 in Tehran, on April 9, 2025. PHOTO:AFP <\/p>\n
Iran could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of all financial sanctions, its atomic chief said on Monday, one of the clearest indications so far of Tehran\u2019s position in talks with Washington.<\/p>\n
United States and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks through Omani mediators in Oman<\/a> last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after US President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of renewed military action.<\/p>\n The talks followed a crackdown<\/a> on anti-government demonstrations in Iran last month in which thousands of people were killed, the biggest domestic unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n Trump joined an Israeli bombing<\/a> campaign last year that struck Iranian nuclear sites. He also threatened last month to intervene militarily during the protests but ultimately held back.<\/p>\n Washington has demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, estimated last year by the UN nuclear watchdog at more than 440 kilogrammes, a short technical step from the 90% level considered weapons grade.<\/p>\n Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran\u2019s Atomic Energy Organisation, said today that the possibility of diluting uranium enriched to 60% \u201cdepends on whether, in return, all sanctions are lifted or not\u201d.<\/p>\n Eslami, quoted by Iran\u2019s ISNA<\/em> news agency, said another proposal \u2014\u00a0sending Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium abroad \u2014\u00a0had not been discussed during the talks with US officials.<\/p>\n Also Read:<\/strong> If US attacks, Iran says it will strike US bases in the region<\/a><\/p>\n Khamenei adviser to visit Oman<\/strong><\/p>\n Ali Larijani, a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, will visit Oman on Tuesday following the US-Iran talks, the semi-official Tasnim<\/em> news agency reported.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring this trip, [Larijani]\u00a0will meet high-ranking officials of the Sultanate of Oman and discuss the latest regional and international developments and bilateral cooperation at various levels,\u201d Tasnim<\/em> said.<\/p>\n The date and venue of the next round of talks have yet to be announced.<\/p>\n Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said today\u00a0that a new round of talks would offer \u201can appropriate opportunity for a fair and balanced resolution of this case\u201d, adding that progress was possible if the US\u00a0avoided \u201cmaximalist\u201d positions and respected its commitments.<\/p>\n