The Trump administration conveyed to Iran that it expects the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi-led delegation to arrive at the next meeting “with meaningful substance,” according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
On Friday in Oman, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with US Central Command (CENTCOM) head Admiral Brad Cooper and Araghchi, along with other senior Iranian officials.
While the first meeting was described as a “good meeting,” focusing mainly on how the negotiations would be conducted rather than on the core issues themselves, the Americans expect the Iranians to come to the next meeting prepared to offer concessions on the nuclear issue and other matters, according to the two sources.
On Sunday, Araghchi made clear that a complete halt to uranium enrichment is absolutely unacceptable to Iran. “The discussions should focus on scenarios in which uranium enrichment continues, alongside assurances that the enrichment is solely for peaceful purposes,” he said.
He also clarified that the missile issue and the “regional arena” (Iran’s proxies) are off the agenda for the negotiations. “The subject of the negotiations is the nuclear issue, and that is how it will remain,” he stated.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart on Tuesday for a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
On Sunday, the Security Cabinet convened, with ministers informed that Israel’s position is that any negotiations with Iran must include not only preventing the terrorist regime in Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but also restrictions on ballistic missiles and an end to Iran’s support for the regional terror axis.
“Time and again, the Iranian regime has proven that its promises cannot be trusted. Should the Iranian regime, which has for decades oppressed its own people who aspire to freedom and justice, attempt to harm our sovereignty or our citizens, the consequences will be extremely severe. Any such attempt will be met with force and decisive action,” stated the official talking points distributed to ministers ahead of the meeting.
Sa’ar emphasizes risk of Iranian nuclear weapons in meeting with Paraguayan counterpart
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said at the start of his meeting with the foreign minister of Paraguay that the attempt by the world’s most extreme regime, Iran, to obtain the world’s most dangerous weapon, nuclear weapons, poses a clear threat to regional and global peace.
“The long-range ballistic missiles the Iranian regime seeks to produce in massive quantities endanger Israel, but not only Israel. The Iranian regime has already used missiles against other countries in the Middle East. European countries are also threatened by the range of these missiles,” Sa’ar said.
Iranian Army chief Amir Hatami said on Sunday that Iran’s military is closely monitoring the enemy and is prepared to respond decisively to any aggression.
Hatami added that the presence of US ships in the region is nothing new: “We have seen this many times over past decades.” He expressed hope that the enemy would not make mistakes, noting that “our air forces are ready to respond.”