Daijiworld Media Network – Istanbul

Istanbul, Feb 13: The United States and Iran are showing signs of flexibility in efforts to revive a nuclear agreement, with Washington appearing willing to tolerate limited Iranian uranium enrichment, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview published on Thursday.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Fidan said it was “positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries.”

He noted that Tehran recognises the need to reach an agreement with Washington, while the US understands that Iran has certain limits. “It’s pointless to try to force them,” he said.

Washington has so far insisted that Iran relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent fissile purity — close to the 90 per cent considered weapons-grade.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has maintained that Tehran will continue to demand the lifting of financial sanctions and insist on its nuclear rights, including enrichment.

Fidan said he believes Tehran “genuinely wants to reach a real agreement” and could accept restrictions on enrichment levels along with a strict inspection regime, similar to the 2015 nuclear deal signed with the US and other world powers.

Diplomats from the US and Iran met in Oman last week in an attempt to revive diplomacy, amid heightened tensions after US President Donald Trump positioned a naval flotilla in the region, fuelling fears of possible military escalation.

Trump on Tuesday said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as negotiations were set to resume.

However, the Turkish foreign minister cautioned that expanding the scope of talks to include Iran’s ballistic missile programme would bring “nothing but another war.”

The United States Department of State and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.