Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has warned that making fundamental mistakes could disrupt the negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
US Special Envoy Steve Eitkoff on Tuesday said Iran “must stop and eliminate” its nuclear enrichment program to reach a deal with Washington.
The remark contradicted an earlier stance by the United States concerning Iran’s enrichment of uranium at a low level to produce energy.
Baghaei metaphorically described the US’s move as moving the goalposts. He said it “constitutes a professional foul and an unfair act in football.”
“In diplomacy, any such shifting (pushed by hawks who fail to grasp the logic/art of commonsensical deal-making) could simply risk any overtures falling apart. It could be perceived as a lack of seriousness, let alone good faith. We’re still in testing mode...” Baghaei stated on X.
He said, “The American hardliners do not understand the art of a win-win deal, and impose their unjust will on the US government and the US negotiators.”
The US State Department echoed Witkoff’s latest statement about the Iran negotiations later on Tuesday, explaining that the US seeks to “eliminate” Iran’s uranium enrichment.
Washington’s unstable attitude towards making a deal with Iran indicates firm opposition from certain interest groups and lobbies within the US to making a fair deal with Iran.
Furthermore, hardliners and anti-Iran lobbies in the US and beyond have gone to considerable lengths to derail the negotiations, using fear, misinformation, character assassination, and psychological tactics.
Following the familiar change of words by the US, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the enrichment of uranium as part of the country’s peaceful nuclear program is “non-negotiable.”
The Tehran-Washington talks, Araghchi said, would yield no results if they are held under pressure and a lack of mutual respect.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that the indirect talks between Iran and the US in the Omani capital of Muscat had been “implemented well in their initial steps,” but added that the Islamic Republic was “very skeptical” of the other side.
The second round of the talks is expected to take place on April 19 in Muscat.
