 "(File) Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP")
Russia is set to emerge as a key player in the ongoing Iran-US talks over the nuclear programme. According to reports, Russia is being touted as a potential destination for highly enriched uranium that Iran possesses if a deal is struck between Washington and Tehran.
This comes after negotiators from Iran and the US met in Rome on Saturday (April 19) and their four-hour talks yielded significant progress, as per American officials. The two sides will again share table in Geneva this week, and then a high-level diplomatic engagement is expected next weekend in Oman.
Why Moscow’s role is important?
There is a high level of distrust between the two sides. While US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff wants to wrap up talks in 60 days, he may encounter resistance from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. This means a concrete progress in the talks is unlikely until Iran is given solid assurances, especially after the 2018 setback when the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear pact unilaterally under Trump’s first term.
The US-Iran talks face two most significant challenging issues.
The first is what will be the future of Iranian highly enriched uranium. Tehran insists on keeping the uranium within the country but that’s a red line for Trump officials. US is now exploring the possibility of transferring this stockpile to a third country, such as Russia. This would keep a window open for Tehran to repossess its uranium if the deal collapses in future.
The second issue is about assurances and guarantees regarding USA’s commitment to the deal. Iran wants a guarantee of consequences for the US if it pulls out of or breaches another deal.
For assurances, Iran is pushing for a Congress-approved treaty from Washington but that is highly unlikely.
A potential solution for this could be in Moscow. The two sides can empower Russia to transfer the highly enriched uranium to Iran if the US reneges on the deal.
All in all, such a scenario would put Russia in a pivotal role in the potential deal, leaving America’s European partners in the wilderness. Germany, France and the UK; all were members of the 2015 pact, who now face the prospect of their position being usurped by Moscow.