Iran to consult with Russia on US nuclear talks

Tehran’s foreign minister will travel to Moscow this week for consultations over Iran’s nuclear talks with the United States, Iran and Russia have announced.

Abbas Araghchi will visit the Iranian ally later this week, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The announcement of the trip – during which Araghchi will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Moscow said – came as details emerged regarding a second set of talks between Iran and the United States to follow up on an initial meeting over the weekend in Oman.

Araghchi’s visit to Russia “was planned in advance, but there will be consultations regarding the talks with the US”, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

The US and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to use its nuclear programme to develop weapons. Tehran says the work has only civilian purposes.

Iran’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear dispute and lift sanctions on its struggling economy have accelerated amid demands from US President Donald Trump, which have come with threats of military action.

Iran and the US said over the weekend that they had held “positive” and “constructive” talks although the negotiations remain indirect with Oman acting as mediator.

The pair has agreed to reconvene on Saturday with reports on Monday suggesting that Rome will play host.

Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has played a role in recent years in nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran.

As an ally of Tehran, it was a signatory to a 2015 nuclear agreement that saw international inspections agreed and sanctions eased, but Trump abandoned the deal during his first term as president in 2018.

Amid the renewed negotiations between Iran and the US, Moscow has called for a focus on diplomatic contacts instead of actions that it said may lead to an escalation.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that Foreign Minister Lavrov will meet Araghchi.

“We are expecting Iranian colleagues, talks with Sergey Lavrov as well as meetings with Russian officials are planned,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The meetings in Moscow extend the contacts between the allies regarding the nuclear talks. Shortly before the meeting in Oman, Russia and Iran had been joined by China in the consultations.

In contrast, Washington’s Western allies, already sidelined by Trump in talks over the war in Ukraine, are seeking to avoid a similar fate regarding Iran.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot asserted on Monday that European states will be watching closely as the negotiations continue.

“We will be vigilant along with our British and German friends and partners to ensure that any [US-Iran] negotiations that may take place comply with our security interests with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme,” Barrot said as he arrived for a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

France, Germany the United Kingdom and European Union negotiated the 2015 nuclear agreement together with Iran, China, Russia and the US.

Meanwhile, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will visit Tehran on Wednesday to meet Araghchi and other senior officials, Iranian officials said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, who last visited Iran in November when he held talks with officials who included President Masoud Pezeshkian, said on social media: “Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed.”

In a report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8kg (605lb) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent level needed to make nuclear weapons.

Ambiguous signals

Before the next round of talks, Iran and the US continue to offer ambiguous signals.

Iran has yet to confirm the location of the next round of talks, but sources have reportedly told media that the discussions will be held in Rome.

Baghaei said, like the negotiations in Oman, the next round would remain indirect under Omani mediation. Direct talks are “not effective” and “not useful”, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Tehran continues to insist that the talks will remain focused solely on the “nuclear issue and lifting of sanctions” and Iran “will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue”.

Trump said the talks were “going OK” and told reporters in the US on Sunday that after meeting with advisers, he expected a quick decision on the nuclear programme.