Five Lessons for the Current Iran Nuclear Talks

Corey Hinderstein | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Last weekend in Oman, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump took the first steps toward a nuclear negotiation with Iran. The indirect discussions went well enough to warrant a second round, held this weekend. As the two sides move toward a substantive negotiation over the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, they should look back at the negotiations to conclude and implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 and draw five lessons for the current process.

KHNP chief stresses Korea-U.S. nonproliferation cooperation amid 'aggressive' nuclear exports by China, Russia

Song Sang-ho | Yonhap News Agency

The head of South Korea's state-run nuclear energy firm underscored the need Monday for South Korea and the United States to work together to reinforce the global nonproliferation regime in the face of "aggressive" nuclear exports from China and Russia… "In regions like the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa, we are seeing aggressive nuclear exports from China and Russia. Indeed, I have concerns about whether these countries are making sufficient efforts to uphold the nonproliferation regime," Whang said at a forum hosted by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Revealed: Trump Admin Launches the Biggest Shake-Up ‘In Decades’ at the State Department

Gabe Kaminsky and Madeleine Rowley | The Free Press

The Trump administration has begun an aggressive shake-up at the State Department that will close 132 agency offices, including those launched to further human rights, advance democracy overseas, counter extremism, and prevent war crimes. The plans to reorganize the leading foreign policy agency in the United States are outlined in internal documents obtained by The Free Press. They show how the State Department will eliminate or restructure hundreds of offices in Washington, D.C.—a revelation that comes after reports in recent weeks of a rumored overhaul at the agency… The broader restructuring at the State Department will also see the elimination of a nuclear nonproliferation envoy role at a bureau working to prevent weapons of mass destruction.

Iran, US task experts with framework for a nuclear deal after 'progress' in talks

Parisa Hafezi | Reuters

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to begin drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after talks that a U.S. official described as yielding "very good progress." … At their second indirect meeting in a week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for four hours in Rome with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them. Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described the engagement as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.

UN nuclear watchdog says US-Iran talks at a ‘very crucial’ stage

Jon Gambrell and Amir Vahdat | AP News

Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program are “in a very crucial” stage, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Thursday while on a visit to the Islamic Republic. The comments by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Tehran included an acknowledgment his agency likely would be key in verifying compliance by Iran should a deal be reached. Iran and the U.S. will meet again Saturday in Rome for a new round of talks after last weekend’s first meeting in Oman.

 Carnegie statement on cancellation of conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi 

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | @CarnegieEndow on X

On Saturday, the Carnegie International Endowment for International Peace announced that the Economist’s Steve Coll would moderate a virtual conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi followed by audience questions to open the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference. Unfortunately, the Iranian foreign minister’s team subsequently requested changes to the previously agreed format. These changes would have severely curtailed the ability of the moderator and the audience to question the foreign minister. As a result, Carnegie decided not to proceed with the session.