First Round of Iran-US Nuclear Talks Concludes in Switzerland

The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, described as "very sensitive" by the Iranian Foreign Minister, took place on Thursday, April 6, in Lausanne, Switzerland, at three levels. Reports indicate that these negotiations will continue on Friday. According to Reuters, Laurent Fabius, the French Foreign Minister, is set to join the talks on Saturday. The negotiations are expected to conclude on Saturday. IRNA also reported that the talks on Thursday involved deputy foreign ministers from Iran, the US, and the EU, as well as the foreign ministers of Iran and the US, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, and the US Secretary of Energy. At times, the sessions were merged. Initially, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and his American counterpart John Kerry, along with Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, and Ernest Moniz, the US Secretary of Energy, along with Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi, deputies to the Iranian Foreign Minister, Wendy Sherman, the US Deputy Secretary of State, and Helga Schmid, Deputy Coordinator of EU Foreign Policy, began the negotiations. Salehi and Moniz then held a technical session discussing the Arak heavy water reactor, Fordow, uranium enrichment, and nuclear research and development, which are technical subjects in the Iran and 1+5 negotiations. This session was paused after a while. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, stated that in this meeting, "a common understanding has been achieved on some issues between the two sides. In this round of negotiations, both sides are trying to reach agreements on the mentioned subjects." The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization also stated that "we have reached a common understanding in technical areas." According to ISNA, Mr. Salehi added that "we have reached a common understanding in a range of technical areas, and this common understanding is essential for reaching an agreement." However, in response to the question of whether he is hopeful about this round of negotiations, he said, "It is difficult to comment on this round." The deputies of the foreign ministers of Iran and the US and the deputy coordinator of EU foreign policy also held a separate meeting. The three-hour meeting between the Iranian Foreign Minister and his American counterpart continued until 1:30 PM local time (5 PM Tehran time), according to IRNA. Reuters also reported that the goal of these negotiations is for Iran to halt its sensitive nuclear activities for at least a decade in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against it. A senior official in the US State Department told reporters that world powers are not rushing into negotiations with Iran simply because the end of March deadline is approaching. He also added, "We believe we can reach an agreement by March 31." In this context, Zarif stated: "This round of nuclear negotiations is very sensitive." Kerry remarked: "By withdrawing from negotiations, the process of sanctioning Iran will collapse." Hammond warned: "The failure of nuclear negotiations will lead the Middle East into an arms race."