Iran and the United States could begin Norway-mediated talks in August, Iran’s state-run English-language newspaper Tehran Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The paper said the discussions would be indirect, with the mediator acting as a go-between, and would cover both Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s demand for compensation over damages from the June war with Israel and the United States.
The United States has dismissed Iran’s compensation demand as “ridiculous,” with State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott saying earlier this month that Tehran should instead “stop funding terrorist death squads” and “stop wasting money on a nuclear program that isolates them further.”
Iran and the US held five rounds of talks between April and May this year in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy. A sixth round was scheduled to take place in Muscat on June 15, but was indefinitely suspended after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran two days earlier.
The ensuing 12-day conflict in June included US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, and Israeli strikes that destroyed critical infrastructure, killing several senior military and scientific figures as well as hundreds of civilians. Iran responded with missile strikes that killed at least 27 Israeli civilians.
Norwegian visit to Tehran
Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Kravik visited Tehran this week and met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. While the official readout made no mention of nuclear talks, the Tehran Times linked the trip to the mediation effort. Norway was among the few Western states to join 120 countries in condemning Israel’s June strikes on Iran.
Israeli attack was US-directed, Iranian president says
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the Israeli June strikes were conducted “with the guidance and support of America” and aimed to spread unrest through “blind strikes” and the assassination of military commanders, scientists and civilians. “When it comes to the security and independence of the country, all differences fade and the principle is Iran,” he said, adding that even political opponents joined in defending the country.
Trump calls Iran a ‘very evil place’
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that American action had prevented wider wars in the Middle East by “stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon.” He called Iran “a very evil place” and warned that if Tehran restarted its program, “we’ll be back as soon as they start.”
