Source: Fortune
Summary
The United States and Iran will hold a second round of indirect talks on Tehran’s nuclear program next week in Geneva, Switzerland. The talks come after a first round in Oman earlier this month, which was attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. The US has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The talks are aimed at reaching an agreement to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, with the US threatening to use force if no deal is reached.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story. The US is sending its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Middle East, while Iran has threatened to respond with an attack of its own. The indirect talks are a familiar phase in the long-standing tensions between the two countries. The US has built up its military assets in the region, and the top military commander in the Middle East was present at the first round of talks. The Trump administration’s top priority is for Iran to scale back its nuclear program, but Iran wants talks to focus solely on the nuclear program.
The announcement sounds like a signal that the situation is escalating. “A change in power in Iran would be the best thing that could happen,” Trump said, as if suggesting a regime change. The fact that the US is sending its largest aircraft carrier to the region while holding indirect talks with Iran raises questions about the true intentions of the US.
Author: Evan Null
