US should benefit financially for any deal to last – Iran

Cooperation in high-yield sectors would make an accord between Tehran and Washington more durable, Iranian Deputy FM Hamid Ghanbari has said

The US should reap economic benefits from any potential agreement with Iran for it to be enduring, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Ghanbari has said.

Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent weeks, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening military action against the Islamic Republic and deploying additional naval and aerial assets to the region. The White House has demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear program and curb its ballistic missile capabilities.

Earlier this month, Washington and Tehran held indirect talks in Oman, which Iran described as a “good beginning.” A second round is expected to take place in Geneva in the coming days.

Speaking on Sunday, Ghanbari stated that the discussions so far touched on shared interests in oil and gas extraction as well as mining and aircraft purchases. Washington should derive tangible economic benefits from any potential bilateral agreement to ensure its viability, the Iranian official was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

Ghanbari suggested that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the US unilaterally withdrew under Trump in 2018, failed because it did not envisage such economic incentives to Washington.

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Last week, Iranian atomic energy chief, Mohammad Eslami stated that his country could agree to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions imposed on the country.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has ruled out a scenario where Iran would give up its uranium enrichment capacity altogether, not even under threat of war. The diplomat also previously said that Iran’s “purely defensive” missile program is non-negotiable.

Earlier this month, Araghchi warned that Iran will strike American bases in the Middle East if the US attacks the country.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that any US-Iran deal should oblige Tehran to abandon its uranium enrichment program and to limit the range of Iranian ballistic missiles to 300 kilometers (186 miles).