The U.S. Calls a Meeting of Nuclear Experts to Prepare for U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 6 - According to a report by the American Axios news website on the 5th, U.S. President Trump's envoy Wietekow and Trump's son-in-law Kushner met with a group of American technical experts on the 4th to prepare for potential U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations.

The Trump administration is trying to reach a memorandum of understanding with Iran and subsequently engage in further negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear issues. The Axios news website cited sources from the U.S. and the Middle East, reporting that Wietekow and Kushner consulted with American technical experts at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is under the U.S. Department of Energy in Tennessee. This does not mean that a memorandum of understanding is imminent, but it indicates that the relevant negotiations have entered a critical phase, and the U.S. side hopes to "be prepared" for subsequent nuclear talks.

Two U.S. officials stated that the U.S. has recently formed a technical team of about 100 experts, all of whom are "top nuclear experts" in the U.S., many of whom participated in the nuclear negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran before the outbreak of hostilities, and "know how to handle the relevant technical issues."

The Axios news website reported that Wietekow and Kushner reached an agreement with Iranian representatives last week on a 60-day memorandum of understanding, which includes extending the ceasefire, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Iran to sell oil, and negotiating on Iran's enriched uranium reserves and future uranium enrichment limits. However, Trump subsequently proposed two modification requests, and the Iranian side also made adjustment requests.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, stated in an interview with CNN on the 5th that whether the U.S. and Iran can reach an agreement depends on whether the U.S. government agrees to unfreeze Iran's $24 billion in frozen assets. He also warned that if the U.S. resumes military actions, it will "step onto a dark path." (Chen Lixi)