Program document: details of negotiations on Iran's nuclear dossier revealed in Russia
The dialogue between Russia, Iran and China on Tehran's nuclear program will continue on a regular basis, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, told Izvestia. He clarified that the format is unlikely to be open to other players. On April 8, the Troika held consultations in Moscow on the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, the United States and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman. Donald Trump has warned Tehran that if diplomacy does not work, it will be in "great danger." The American side demands concessions from the Iranians on the issues of dismantling the nuclear program, eliminating missile development and abandoning relations with regional partners. What steps Washington can take to persuade Tehran to compromise is in the Izvestia article.
Consultations between Russia, China and Iran on the nuclear issue
Trilateral consultations between Russia, China and Iran will continue on a regular basis, Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna, told Izvestia. The format of discussions between Moscow, Beijing and Tehran helps to reduce the risks of escalation around the Iranian dossier.
"The joint work of our three countries makes a significant contribution to the stabilization of the international situation around the Iranian nuclear program and allows us to cool down some hotheads in order to avoid rash drastic steps," the diplomat said.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna
On April 8, trilateral consultations were held in Moscow, where China, Russia and Iran discussed various aspects related to the nuclear issue, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Mikhail Ulyanov recalled that the trilateral format of consultations between Russia, China and Iran on Tehran's nuclear program was formed many years ago and mainly operates on the Vienna international platform. According to him, this is convenient because all three countries have their diplomatic missions in Vienna dealing with this issue, including within the framework of the work of the IAEA.
— I am sure that the trilateral cooperation will continue on a regular basis, especially since this year promises to be difficult. On October 18, 2025, the nuclear deal expires, as well as UN Security Council resolution 2231, which approved this deal," the permanent representative said.
According to Mikhail Ulyanov, the scenario of expanding the number of participants in this format seems unlikely. The diplomat stressed that "the trilateral mechanism is quite self-sufficient," since Iran, Russia and China play a prominent role in working on Tehran's nuclear issue in the international arena.
"However, this does not exclude the possibility of holding some meetings in a broader format as needed, but these will, of course, not be trilateral consultations," the permanent representative explained.
On March 14, consultations on nuclear issues were held in Beijing at the level of the deputy foreign ministers of Russia, China and Iran. According to our diplomatic department, the parties agreed to make efforts to find viable, sustainable negotiated solutions regarding the Iranian nuclear dossier.
— The negotiations in Moscow, as well as the previous consultations in Beijing, are certainly necessary to develop a common position. Iran also recently held a round of discussions with the Eurotroika — Great Britain, France and Germany, where a common approach was developed," Vladimir Sazhin, senior researcher at the Center for Near and Middle East Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to Izvestia.
However, according to him, Oman is the key venue, where the first round of negotiations between the United States and Iran will be held this week. "All these consultations are important for the reconciliation of clocks, but the main thing is, of course, the dialogue in Oman. After that, depending on the results, both Eurotroika and Russia and China will be able to begin active actions to create a single document," concluded Sazhin.
US-Iran meeting in Oman
According to Donald Trump, a "very big meeting" with representatives of Iran "at almost the highest level" will take place on Saturday. The president did not say anything about the composition of the American delegation, but stressed: "We are conducting direct negotiations with them, and perhaps an agreement will be reached. I think everyone agrees that a deal is preferable to the obvious alternatives." At the same time, Trump warned that if diplomacy does not work, Iran will be "in great danger."
US President Donald Trump
However, Tehran hastened to correct the wording of the American leader. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that negotiations with the Americans are indeed planned, but they will be held in an indirect format. "Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for high-level indirect talks. It is equally an opportunity and a test. The ball is on America's side," Araghchi wrote on his page on the social network X. And in a column for the Washington Post, the foreign minister said: "We cannot imagine that President Trump would want to become another US president mired in a catastrophic war in the Middle East."
According to Amwaj Media, the American delegation will be led by Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting with Trump on April 7, said that he fully supports the position of the American president and advocates the dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program according to the Libyan scenario. We are talking about the 2003 agreement, when Muammar Gaddafi's Libya voluntarily abandoned its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Then the equipment and materials were exported to the United States, and the country allowed international inspectors to visit all nuclear facilities.
The fate of the negotiations largely depends on the goals pursued by the Trump administration. If the White House insists on the complete dismantling of the nuclear program, the elimination of Iran's missile development and the abandonment of relations with regional partners, as proposed by Israel, diplomacy is doomed to failure, said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington. At the same time, he notes that if Washington focuses on reaching a verified agreement that guarantees the impossibility of creating an Iranian nuclear bomb, the negotiations have a chance of success.
According to Vladimir Sazhin, the upcoming negotiations between the United States and Iran in Oman will be extremely difficult. The expert noted that the main task of the parties is to develop a common platform and program for further dialogue, but this is complicated by serious differences between Tehran and Washington on key issues. Sazhin recalled that the American side outlined three main requirements for Iran: the settlement of the nuclear dossier, the limitation of missile capabilities and the curtailment of military activity in the Middle East, primarily support for proxy groups.
Sazhin drew attention to the fact that Tehran, in turn, had indicated a tough position from the very beginning: it was ready to discuss exclusively the nuclear issue, refusing to touch on issues of its weapons or regional policy. The Iranian side traditionally claims that the movements it supports in the Middle East are not proxy groups, but independent national liberation forces.
However, as the expert noted, the real picture for Tehran has deteriorated significantly. Today, most pro—Iranian groups have either been defeated or are laying down their weapons, including the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is considered Iran's main striking force in the Middle East.
— Iran has practically no levers of influence in the region in the form of armed formations, and this issue is likely to be removed from the agenda of negotiations with the United States, — said Vladimir Sazhin.
However, according to the expert, the topic of Iran's missile program remains extremely sensitive. Sazhin expressed doubt that Washington would agree to ignore the development of Iran's missile potential, which poses a threat not only to American interests in the Middle East, but also to the United States itself in the future, given Iran's development of intercontinental missiles. He suggested that the parties are unlikely to reach concrete solutions in Oman, but they can agree on a kind of roadmap for subsequent rounds of dialogue.
Much will depend on Tehran's willingness to compromise. As the Reuters news agency reports, citing an unnamed Middle Eastern diplomat, Iran admits the possibility of direct negotiations with the United States in exchange for a "goodwill gesture" in the form of easing sanctions or unfreezing some of its assets. Tehran would like to see concrete steps from the United States before entering into face-to-face negotiations with American officials.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
