What do ‘expert level’ talks signal for the progress of the Iran-US nuclear negotiations?

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear campaign will move Wednesday to what s known as the expert level a sign analysts say shows that the talks are moving forward rapidly However experts not involved in the talks who spoke with The Associated Press warn that this doesn t necessarily signal a deal is imminent Instead it means that the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff haven t broken down at what likely is the top-level commerce Tehran limiting its atomic venture in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions Agreeing to technical talks suggests both sides are expressing pragmatic realistic objectives for the negotiations and want to explore the details commented Kelsey Davenport the director for nonproliferation agenda at the Arms Control Association who long has studied Iran s nuclear project If Witkoff was making maximalist demands during his talks with Araghchi such as dismantlement of the enrichment activity Iran would have no incentive to meet at the technical level That technical level however remains filled with attainable landmines Just how much enrichment by Iran would be peaceful for the United States What about Tehran s ballistic missile project which U S President Donald Trump first cited in pulling America unilaterally out of the accord in Which sanctions could be lifted and which would be remain in place on the Islamic Republic The the greater part significant determinant of expert talks value lies in whether there is a political commitment to do something and experts just need to figure out what reported Richard Nephew an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Agenda who worked on Iran sanctions while at the U S State Department during negotiations over what became the nuclear deal If the experts also have to discuss big concepts without political agreement it can just effect in spun wheels Experts and the nuclear deal The nuclear deal saw senior experts involved in both sides of the deal For the U S under President Barack Obama Resource Secretary Ernest Moniz reached an understanding working with Ali Akbar Salehi then the leader of the Atomic Potency Organization of Iran Both men s technical background proved key to nailing down the specifics of the deal Under the agreement Iran agreed to enrich uranium only to purity and keep a stockpile of only kilograms pounds Nowadays Iran enriches a few uranium up to purity a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of The last account by the International Atomic Vigor Agency put Iran s overall uranium stockpile in February at kilograms pounds The deal also limited the types of centrifuges Iran could spin further slowing Tehran s ability to rush for a bomb if it chose to do so It also set out the provisions of how and when sanctions would be lifted as well as time limits for the accord itself Reaching limits relief and timelines require the knowledge of experts analysts say A nonproliferation agreement is meaningless if it cannot be effectively implemented and verified Davenport explained The United States requirements a strong technical company to negotiate the detailed restrictions and intrusive monitoring that will be necessary to ensure any move by Iran toward nuclear weapons is fleetly detected and there is sufficient time to respond It remains unclear who the two sides will be sending for those negotiations Hiccups already heard in these negotiations Both the Americans and the Iranians have been tightlipped over exactly what s been discussed so far though both sides have expressed optimism about the pace However there has been one noticeable dispute stemming from comments Witkoff made in a television interview suggesting Tehran could be able to enrich up to purity However analysts noted that was the level set by the deal under Obama Witkoff hours later issued a comment suggesting that comparison struck a nerve A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization activity Witkoff added Araghchi responded by warning that Iran must be able to enrich The core issue of enrichment itself is not negotiable he announced Despite that experts who spoke to the AP commented they remained positive about the talks trajectory so far Although still early stages I m encouraged so far explained Alan Eyre a former U S diplomat once involved in past nuclear negotiations with Tehran The pace of negotiations to include starting expert level meetings this Wednesday is good He added that so far there didn t appear to be any mutually sole red lines for the talks as well signaling there likely wasn t promptly any roadblocks to reaching a deal Nephew similarly described reaching the expert level as a positive sign However he cautioned that the hard work potentially was just beginning for the negotiations They imply the need to get into real details to discuss concepts that senior administrators might not understand and to answer questions I also think too much can be read into them starting Nephew commented Expert talks can sometimes be a fudge for seniors to avoid working on tough issues let s have experts discuss it while we move on to other things or to sidestep big political decisions Corey Hinderstein the vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former U S leadership nuclear expert described herself as feeling cautious optimism over the expert talks beginning Heads of delegation are responsible for setting strategic goals and defining success she declared But if there is a deal to be made the technical experts are the ones who will get it done The Associated Press receives help for nuclear precaution coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content