Iran on Monday said the United States has adopted a “more realistic” position regarding Tehran’s nuclear programme ahead of a second round of negotiations between the two countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said discussions held so far in Muscat indicate a shift in Washington’s approach.
“A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one,” he said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Baqaei added that Iran’s rights under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty had been recognised, particularly regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment.
Tehran and Washington are scheduled to hold a second round of talks on Tuesday. The negotiations resumed this month after previous efforts collapsed during last year’s Iran Israel war.
In June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, triggering a 12 day conflict during which Israel and the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities.
Ahead of the talks, Baqaei said Iran would push for the lifting of long standing US sanctions, which have worsened the country’s economic crisis.
“Time is of the essence for us. Our people are under the pressure of oppressive sanctions, and reason and logic demand that we lift these sanctions as soon as possible,” he said.
One of the major sticking points remains Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which had reached 60 percent purity before the war. Washington has repeatedly called on Tehran to reduce enrichment levels to zero.
On Sunday, Israel called for Iran to have no enrichment capability and for all enriched material to be transferred abroad.
There is uncertainty over the status of more than 400 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, which was last inspected in June before the outbreak of hostilities.
Iran has maintained that its enriched material remains under the rubble of nuclear facilities struck during the conflict. While insisting on its right to enrichment, Tehran has said it is prepared to dilute its highly enriched uranium if all sanctions are lifted.
The renewed negotiations come amid heightened tensions following the deployment of a United States aircraft carrier group to the Gulf after Iran’s recent crackdown on anti government protests sparked by economic hardship.
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