WANA (Feb 11) – Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, traveled to Oman on Tuesday, where he met and held talks with Omani officials. During the visit, Larijani also gave an interview to Oman TV. Selected excerpts from his remarks are as follows:
Larijani said that in the past, Iran-U.S. negotiation process had been moving forward, but it was the United States that altered the course of the talks.
He emphasized that Iran has repeatedly stated that if the negotiations are realistic, Tehran does not view them negatively and is ready for dialogue.
According to Larijani, the focus of the negotiations is solely on the nuclear issue, and no negotiations have taken place on other matters. He added that the American side has also reached the conclusion that the talks should revolve exclusively around the nuclear issue.
Larijani reiterated that Iran has believed from the outset that war is not a solution to the dispute between the two countries and that regional issues should be resolved through dialogue.
He stated that the mistake of the opposing parties was their assumption that issues could be resolved through the language of force — an approach which, he said, created many problems in the course of the talks.
Larijani noted that if the negotiations proceed within a reasonable framework, there is a possibility of success.
At the same time, he warned that raising additional demands that could lead to the failure of the negotiations — including certain statements by Donald Trump that Iran must not move toward weapons — would make the path of dialogue more difficult.
The senior Iranian official further stated that if the current negotiations with the United States are successful, they could potentially be expanded.
However, Larijani said he cannot state with certainty at this stage whether this path will lead to talks on other disputes between Tehran and Washington. He cautioned that expectations should not be raised too high.
He also noted that multiple invitations have been put forward by the American side.
According to Larijani, only one round of negotiations has been held so far, and it remains to be seen what will happen in the future.
He added that if the concern of the Americans is that Iran should not move toward nuclear weapons, this issue can be resolved. However, Larijani stressed that if other issues beyond this are introduced into the negotiations, the process of dialogue may face difficulties.
Larijani emphasized that Iran wants the issues to be resolved quickly and is not seeking to delay the process.