Report: ‘Major progress’ made in US-Iran nuclear deal talks

The United States and Iran have made “major progress” in reaching a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme, according to a report published in Israeli newspaper Haaretz. 

Efforts to reach a deal on Iran’s escalating nuclear programme came to a halt last year after months of negotiations, causing the Islamic Republic to rapidly advance its program.

But according to Israeli defence officials cited by Haaretz, the U.S. and Iran are now at a point where an agreement could possibly be reached within weeks.

The officials believe that Iran will be asked to stop enriching uranium at high level in return for gradual sanction relief. The first step would be to release £16 billion of Iranian assets currently frozen in South Korea, Iraq, and at the International Monetary Fund.

Iran has also released three Western prisoners as a show of good faith, while Belgium released an Iranian diplomat in exchange.

Israel’s government, headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, has publicly criticised the Biden administration’s efforts to reach a new deal with Iran, arguing that the Islamic Republic cannot be trusted.

Instead, Netanyahu believes that a credible military threat from the U.S., Israel and other Western nations, as well as heavy sanctions, will eventually force Iran to give up its nuclear programme. This strategy, however, has not proven successful so far.

Many Israeli experts and former IDF chiefs believe that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the Western powers was the best way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, despite the deal failing to address certain concerns for Israel.

The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the nuclear deal worsened the situation, they believe.

Israel has since then repeatedly threatened with striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying it will do everything in its power to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.