Can Trump secure a new Iran deal?

NEW YORK – Negotiators from the United States and Iran have just convened in Oman for their fourth round of nuclear talks. The two sides remain far apart on fundamental questions, they have diverging expectations, and they are running out of time. But for the first time in years, there is cause for optimism. What distinguishes this moment is not a sudden convergence of positions but a shared recognition that diplomacy is preferable to confrontation. Iran insists that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, and the latest US intelligence assessment concludes that it is not currently building a nuclear weapon. Nonetheless, Iran’s enrichment activities have expanded significantly since Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. Today, Iran is a threshold nuclear state with enough 60 percent-enriched uranium to produce six nuclear weapons (if enriched to 90 percent), and the ability to “dash to a bomb” in about six months (though weaponizing a device would probably take between one and two years). For mucWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times