Istanbul
\nThe United States and Iran are showing flexibility on a nuclear deal, with Washington appearing \u201cwilling\u201d to tolerate some nuclear enrichment, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday.
\n\u201cIt is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,\u201d Fidan, who has been involved in talks with both Washington and Tehran, told the FT.
\n\u201cThe Iranians now recognise that they need to reach a deal with the Americans, and the Americans understand that the Iranians have certain limits. It\u2019s pointless to try to force them.\u201d
\nWashington has until now demanded Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.
\nIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran would continue to demand the lifting of financial sanctions and insist on its nuclear rights including enrichment.
\nFidan told the FT he believed Tehran \u201cgenuinely wants to reach a real agreement\u201d and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspection regime, as it did in the 2015 agreement with the U.S. and others.
\nU.S. and Iranian diplomats held in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, raising fears of new military action.
\nTrump on Tuesday said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as Washington and Tehran prepared to resume negotiations.
\nThe Turkish foreign minister, however, cautioned that broadening the Iran-U.S. talks to ballistic missiles would bring \u201cnothing but another war.\u201d
\nThe U.S. State Department and the White House did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Istanbul The United States and Iran are showing flexibility on a nuclear deal, with Washington appearing \u201cwilling\u201d to tolerate some nuclear enrichment, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday. \u201cIt is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,\u201d Fidan, who has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n