AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The U.S. and Iran are talking. They held their first high-level talks in years yesterday, and both sounded mildly encouraged afterward. The goal is a new deal on Iran's nuclear program. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from a previous agreement during his first term. We're joined now by NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre. Good morning, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So the mere fact that the U.S. and Iran are meeting is news. But is there any reason yet to think that these talks will succeed?
MYRE: So way too soon to say that, but Saturday's talks were an important first step. The U.S. and Iran held these talks in Oman's capital, Muscat, mediated by Oman. And the key issues are clear - what will the limits be on Iran's nuclear program, and to what extent will Iran get relief from the tough sanctions imposed by the U.S.? But both sides sounded very serious. The U.S. called the talks positive and constructive. Iran struck a similar note, and they've agreed to meet again on Saturday.
RASCOE: The previous nuclear deal was reached in 2015 under President Obama. It fell apart when Trump pulled out of it in 2018. But could that old agreement still offer a framework for a future deal?
MYRE: So, it could kind of cut both ways. On the one hand, the U.S. and Iran had to work out a lot of very complicated technical issues under that original agreement. Both sides learned what worked and what didn't. Now, I spoke about this with Alex Vatanka, an Iran expert at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
ALEX VATANKA: So much of the heavy lifting was done 10 years ago when it comes to a narrow agreement around the nuclear issue. They don't have to reinvent the wheel.
MYRE: But some other things have changed. Iran has now enriched uranium to a much higher level, about 60% purity. That's not quite the level needed for a nuclear weapon, which would be around 90% purity, but it's close. And it's something Iran could do fairly quickly and move toward a bomb. So the U.S. will have to win concessions just to get back to the point where we were in 2018 when Trump withdrew unilaterally, and Trump will certainly want a deal that he can present as better than the one that Obama cut.
RASCOE: What about Iran? How has its position changed since the original deal?
MYRE: Well, Iran is vulnerable right now. Its economy is very fragile. It suffered military setbacks last year in missile exchanges with Israel, so it could be willing to make some compromises. Now, Iran will want to keep the talks narrowly focused on its nuclear program. Trump and his team have spoken about some broader goals, like ending Iran's support for proxy groups in the region. Again, here's Alex Vatanka.
VATANKA: Neither side wants this to turn into a hot war. The Iranians certainly cannot afford it, and the Americans have other issues they want to worry about, not being dragged into another war in the Middle East.
RASCOE: So how do these negotiations fit in with Trump's broader goal in the Middle East?
MYRE: Well, as we heard, Trump doesn't want to get bogged down in another Middle East conflict and a nuclear deal would ease tensions. At the same time, Trump has been ramping up U.S. military involvement. The U.S. has been bombing for a month against the Houthis in Yemen, a group that Iran supports. So Trump is supporting negotiations for now, but he keeps warning that a military option is still on the table.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Greg Myre. Greg, thank you so much.
MYRE: Sure thing, Ayesha. 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.
