Iran Negotiator Details Talks in Surprise Russia Visit

Qatar yielded 'professional exchange of views'

Offering some of the most direct comments on last week’s Qatar talks, Iran’s nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri made a surprise visit to Russia to discuss the matter.

Bagheri, as with others, confirmed that there was “no progress made” in the talks. At the same time, Russia’s Mikhail Ulyanov said it involved “very professional exchange of views around the JCPOA.”

That’s a silver lining no one else had commented on. The Iranians are still pushing for US flexibility, something they’ve mentioned often and which the US seems loath to even consider.

Its been months since any progress was made, and the US both says it is all Iran’s fault and that they don’t expect any progress in future talks. The US, as ever, seems content to let the talks stall, risky when Iran and the EU are trying to make offers to bring them back to the table. The US seems willing to do a lot of work to not negotiate.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.