<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>1 min<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi has confirmed that further talks between the United States and Iran will take place on Thursday amid spiralling tensions between the two countries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPleased to confirm US-Iran negotiations are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal,\u201d Albusaidi said in a social media post on Sunday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The announcement comes as the US continues to amass military assets in the Middle East, raising concerns about an all-out war against Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Hours before Oman\u2019s announcement, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was ready to put in place a \u201cfull monitoring mechanism\u201d to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme and ease tensions.<\/p>\n<p>Asked by Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan\u00a0why Iran would want to pursue enrichment on its soil rather than buy enriched uranium from abroad, given the US military build-up and risk of an escalation, Araghchi said the issue was a matter of \u201cdignity and pride\u201d for Iranians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have developed this technology by ourselves, by our scientists, and it is very dear to us because we have created it \u2013 we have paid a huge expense for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Araghchi cited among the costs two decades of US sanctions, the <a href=\"http:\/\/google.com\/search?q=targeted+killings+of+Iranian+scientists+al+jazeera&oq=targeted+killings+of+Iranian+scientists+al+jazeera&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDI1OTFqMGo0qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8\">targeted killings of Iranian scientists<\/a>, and US-Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities in June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to give [our nuclear programme] up; there is no legal reason to do that while everything is peaceful and safeguarded\u201d by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Araghchi said.<\/p>\n<p>As a \u201ccommitted member\u201d of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires non-nuclear-weapon states not to seek or acquire nuclear weapons, Iran is \u201cready to cooperate with the agency in full\u201d, Araghchi added.<\/p>\n<p>But he stressed that under the treaty, Tehran also has \u201cevery right to enjoy a peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnrichment is a sensitive part of our negotiations. The American team knows about our position, and we know their position. We have already exchanged our concerns, and I think a solution is achievable,\u201d the minister noted.<\/p>\n<p>Enrichment is the process of isolating and garnering a rare variant, or isotope, of uranium that can produce nuclear fission. At low levels, enriched uranium can power electric plants. If enriched to approximately 90 percent, it can be used for nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n<p>US officials, including President Donald Trump, have previously suggested that Washington is seeking \u201czero enrichment\u201d by Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any deal with Iran would need to include agreements on ballistic missiles and support for its allies in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Araghchi, however, said on Sunday that Iran was \u201cnegotiating only nuclear\u201d at the present time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no other subject,\u201d he told CBS News, adding that he was optimistic that a deal could be reached.<\/p>\n<p>The second round of nuclear talks concluded in Geneva on February 17. The US and Iran also held indirect talks in Oman earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>The Iranian delegation is working ahead of the meeting to present a draft that includes \u201celements which can accommodate both sides\u2019 concerns and interests\u201d to reach a \u201cfast deal\u201d, Araghchi said.<\/p>\n<p>The top Iranian diplomat added the agreement would likely be \u201cbetter\u201d than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated by former US President Barack Obama in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are elements that could be much better than the previous deal,\u201d he said, without elaborating. \u201cRight now, there is no need for too much detail. But we can agree on our nuclear programme to remain peaceful forever and at the same time, for more sanctions [to be] lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran is negotiating \u2018only nuclear\u2019 at present, its foreign minister says, and is confident a deal can be reached. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a01 min info Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi has confirmed that further talks between the United States and Iran will take place on Thursday amid spiralling tensions between the two countries. \u201cPleased […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}