US, Iran seem willing to make concessions to secure nuclear deal: Turkish foreign minister

By Kanyshai Butun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday said that the US and Iran seemed willing to make concessions in order to reach a nuclear agreement, Financial Times reported.

Speaking to the news outlet, Fidan underlined that Washington had signaled a willingness to be flexible on a key demand that Iran end all uranium enrichment.

Fidan also said he believed Tehran “genuinely wants to reach a real agreement” and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspections regime, as it did in the 2015 agreement with the US and other world powers.

“It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,” said Fidan. “The Iranians now recognize that they need to reach a deal with the Americans, and the Americans understand that the Iranians have certain limits. It’s pointless to try to force them.”

Fidan opined that if the US “insists on addressing all the issues simultaneously” — a reference to Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and support for regional militant groups — the nuclear file “will not move forward.”

“The result could be another war in the region,” he underlined.

- US-Iran tensions

His remarks came as Iran and the US prepare for the next round of negotiations, which resumed in Oman on Friday after a nearly eight-month suspension, which was described as a positive first step from both sides.

The talks were initially planned in Türkiye’s Istanbul with regional powers attending as observers. But Tehran pushed for them to be held in Oman, as it insisted the discussions focus solely on the nuclear program.

After hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he insisted that “negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated.”

“If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — that did not work well for them.”

Fidan said Ankara and other regional governments were “trying to develop creative ideas” to tackle Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militants, adding they could play a “constructive and effective role.”

“The Americans are deeply concerned about Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he said, adding that missiles and proxies affect regional security, being closely tied to the neighboring countries.

Fidan said he was concerned Netanyahu would seek to influence Trump during his White House visit.

“For Israel, maintaining a position of military superiority in the region is a central priority,” he said. “The presence of Iranian missiles complicates that objective.”

- Avoid repeating past mistakes

Fidan urged the Trump administration and Iran to avoid repeating past mistakes, especially excluding regional states from talks that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.

“It will be important for Iran to pair any agreement with the US with steps that strengthen confidence with regional partners . . . that balance is essential,” he said. “There is a significant trust gap with regional countries, and addressing that dimension is essential,” added Fidan.

He said that following Israel’s devastating war last year and the mass anti-regime protests last month — the most violent and deadly since the 1979 Islamic Revolution — Tehran was aware of the peril it faced.

Trump has sent what he described as an “armada” of US warships to the region while weighing military options against Tehran in the aftermath of the protests.

“They (Iran’s leaders) understand that the public unrest was driven largely by economic difficulties,” he said. “So they know that the sanctions issue needs to be resolved.”

He also cautioned that US strikes would be unlikely to trigger the collapse of the regime.

“I don’t think that regime change will occur,” Fidan said. “Of course, the government organs and some other targets would be badly hit and damaged, destroyed. But the regime as a political entity would be a functioning entity.”