Washington and Tehran are trying to agree on a framework agreement that would be an intermediate step towards a nuclear deal, writes The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources.
Iran says that such an agreement would be a “step towards a new deal“ and proposes that it include confirmation of its right to a civilian nuclear program and a commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons. In addition, the agreement may include a requirement for strict inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities.
However, Washington wants to list specific goals in the interim agreement, which technical groups will then work to achieve. The US also expects the framework agreement to be "more prescriptive".
The main contentious issue in the work on the framework agreement remains Iran's right to enrich uranium, the publication notes. The US insists that Tehran completely abandon these activities, but Iranian authorities reject this demand and state that their country's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful in nature.
Earlier on Friday, the fifth round of talks between Iran and the United States ended in Rome. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is acting as a mediator in the negotiation process, said that the parties had achieved "some but not final progress". The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, Abbas Araghchi, said that Tehran and Washington are preparing for a new round of talks to resolve differences over Iran's nuclear program and hope to achieve positive results in one or two more meetings.
The first round of talks between Iran and the United States was held on April 12 in Muscat, the second on April 19 in Rome, and the third and fourth on April 26 and May 11 again in the capital of Oman.