LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Representatives from the U.S. and Iran negotiated for more than three hours in Geneva today.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This is the second time in as many weeks that the two sides discussed limiting Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. has wanted concessions from Iran beyond that nuclear program, and its ally, Israel, wants a lot more. Americans have paired the talks with a threat, positioning military force in the region. In a moment, we'll speak with Richard Nephew, who focused on Iran during two Democratic administrations. We begin with the facts.
FADEL: NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is following these developments, and she joins me now. Good morning.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Morning, Leila.
FADEL: So, Jackie, this is another round of talks today between the U.S. and Iran. Can we expect any sort of breakthrough?
NORTHAM: Well, it's a good sign that both sides are still open to negotiations. As with the last round of indirect talks in Oman, it would be U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, meeting with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, although President Trump said Monday that he would be involved in the talks indirectly.
Both the U.S. and Iran are still firm in their demands. President Trump doesn't want Iran to possess nuclear weapons and so wants zero enrichment, but Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for research and civilian uses. There are other important issues to address, such as Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, its use of proxies in the region and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
FADEL: OK, so it sounds as though both sides are dug in on key issues. Is there any sense of compromise?
NORTHAM: Well, Iran has indicated it could be open to curbing, not eliminating, its nuclear program, and it brought a large technical team with it to Geneva as a gesture that it's serious. I spoke with Sanam Vakil, and she's an Iran specialist at Chatham House, which is a London-based think tank. And she says Iran is in a weaker bargaining position than the U.S. because it's in dire economic straits. Here she is.
SANAM VAKIL: The Islamic Republic needs sanctions relief. The country just saw massive protests spread across Iran, really precipitated by collapsing currency and high inflation.
NORTHAM: But, you know, Leila, thousands of Iranians were killed by security forces during those protests, according to human rights groups, so any concessions by the U.S. could be seen as rewarding the authoritarian regime. And in fact, Trump recently said regime change in Iran would be, quote, "the best that could happen." And this, of course, as a second aircraft carrier heads towards the region.
FADEL: Yeah. So Trump continuing to signal that military intervention is possible. And Iran is not the only thing Witkoff and Kushner are dealing with, right? They're also holding discussions on the war in Ukraine just as we are about to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. What's going on with those negotiations?
NORTHAM: Well, you're right, yeah. Witkoff and Kushner are addressing these two major crises on the very same day. And there are even lower expectations of a breakthrough with the Ukraine talks than the Iran ones. This is only recently Ukraine and Russia have done face-to-face meetings, and that could indicate some pressure by Trump. You'll recall during his presidential campaign he said he'd stop the war in one day. Now he says he wants a deal by June. But there is no real end to the war in sight, and it's set to enter its fifth year next week.
FADEL: That's NPR's Jackie Northam. Thank you, Jackie.
NORTHAM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
