Washington Weighs Diplomacy and Pressure
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Trump favors a diplomatic outcome but acknowledged uncertainty over whether negotiations would succeed.
“No one’s ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran but we’re going to try,” Rubio said during a press conference in Bratislava.
U.S. officials have indicated that additional military assets have been positioned in the region as a precaution. At the same time, Washington is increasing economic pressure. According to reports, the United States is working with Israel to curb Iran’s oil exports to China, which accounts for the majority of Tehran’s crude sales.
A reduction in those exports would significantly affect Iran’s revenue stream.
Nuclear Flexibility and Red Lines
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi suggested Tehran is open to compromise if sanctions are lifted. In an interview with the BBC, he said the ball was “in America’s court to prove that they want to do a deal.”
Iran’s atomic energy chief has previously indicated that Tehran could dilute its most highly enriched uranium as part of an agreement. Western governments have long viewed uranium enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons capability, an allegation Tehran denies.
Iran maintains that it will not accept a complete halt to uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in earlier negotiations.
