Iran says it’s open to compromise in nuclear talks if US lifts sanctions

Deputy foreign minister says ‘ball was in America’s court to prove they want to do a deal’

Iran says it’s ready to compromise to reach a nuclear deal with the US if Washington is willing to lift sanctions.

Deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Tehran was prepared to discuss limits on its nuclear programme, including its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

“We’re ready to discuss this and other issues related to our programme if they are ready to talk about sanctions,” he told the BBC.

The minister’s comments came after indirect talks between the US and Iran were held in Oman earlier this month. A second round of discussions is set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday.

Mr Takht-Ravanchi described the initial contacts as going “more or less in a positive direction”, but cautioned that it was “too early to judge”.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Saturday that president Donald Trump preferred a deal but that it was “very hard to do” one with Iran.

Mr Trump previously threatened military strikes if negotiations failed.

The Iranian minister said that the “ball was in America’s court to prove that they want to do a deal”.

“If they are sincere,” he said, “I'm sure we will be on the road to an agreement.”

The talks mark a renewed attempt to revive diplomacy after Mr Trump withdrew the US in 2018 from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The deal had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for strict limits on its nuclear activities.

Iran has since expanded its enrichment programme. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has amassed over 400kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, close to weapons-grade levels, though Tehran has denied seeking nuclear weapons.

Mr Takht-Ravanchi pointed to Iran’s offer to dilute its 60 per cent enriched uranium as an example of flexibility.

He reiterated, however, that zero enrichment wasn’t acceptable. “The issue of zero enrichment is not an issue anymore,” he told the broadcaster, “and as far as Iran is concerned it’s not on the table anymore.”

Mr Trump said on Friday that “we don’t want any enrichment”, highlighting a key gap between the two sides.

Mr Takht-Ravanchi also said it was “too early to say what will happen in the course of negotiations” when asked whether Iran would agree to ship its stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad, as it did under the 2015 accord.

Iran has repeatedly ruled out linking the nuclear issue to its ballistic missile programme, which Washington and its allies have also sought to put curbs on.

An American delegation, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, is expected to meet Iranian representatives in Geneva, with Omani officials acting as mediators, a source told Reuters last week.