Reports: US, Iran Holding Indirect Meetings

Facts

• According to several published reports, the US has restarted informal talks with Iran about releasing American prisoners and slowing the Islamic Republic's growing nuclear program.¹
• White House officials have reportedly traveled to Oman at least three times since talks restarted in New York in December, with Omani officials serving as intermediaries.¹
• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes an overarching new deal with Iran, recently told the Knesset foreign relations and security committee about the discussions he says include a request for Iran to not enrich uranium above 60% in exchange for the US releasing billions of dollars in Iranian funds and a prisoner exchange.²
• An unnamed US official said earlier this week that there had been no talks about an interim nuclear deal, but the US has let Iran know actions it can take to calm the antagonism between the two countries.³
• This echoes a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, who said on Monday that his country isn't interested in an interim nuclear deal but that it would consider re-entering the parameters of the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US pulled out of in 2018.⁴
• Meanwhile, Iranian Pres. Ebrahim Raisi is on a tour of Latin America, where he used his stop in Nicaragua to rail against US sanctions that he claims are meant to "paralyze our people … but it hasn’t been able to do it."⁵

Sources: ¹Wall Street Journal, ²Axios, ³Reuters, ⁴The Times of Israel, and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Red State. It’s already been proven that deals made with Iran do nothing to stop its nuclear program and only allow it to funnel money to terrorist organizations that threaten the US and Israel. These bribes to cool relations with Iran will achieve little more than the polarization of Washington's true allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, jeopardizing its influence in the region.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Just Security. This is the perfect time for the US to engage Iran as the republic recently began acquiescing to some requests for transparency of its nuclear program from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Biden might not have much support at his back for diplomacy from Iran, but talks are a better alternative to an Iranian nuclear program that’s left to run wild.
• Pro-Iran narrative, as provided by Tasnim News Agency. Iran has the legal right to a peaceful nuclear program. The lifting of some sanctions is welcomed, but not enough. If 2015 nuclear deal is to be reinstated, all sanctions must be removed and the US must not be able to unilaterally leave the deal again.

Predictions