Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has said Tehran is prepared to reach an agreement with the US "as soon as possible" amid rising tensions and two days ahead of another round of talks between the two countries.
The second round of talks between Tehran and Washington is going to be held in Geneva on Thursday. The talks aim to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Takht-Ravanchi made these comments in an interview with US NPR. The interview was released on Tuesday. "We will enter the negotiating room with sincerity and goodwill," Ravanchi said, as he hoped that Iran's "good approach" would be reciprocated by the United States. "If there is a political will on both sides, I believe the deal can be reached as soon as possible."
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Asked about the Iranian proposal that is going to be presented to the American side in the Geneva talks, he stressed the sole discussion in the upcoming talks was the "nuclear issue".
So far, the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement in the two rounds of talks held in Geneva. Following this, US President Donald Trump has been upping the war rhetoric against Iran. He (Trump) has given Tehran 10-15 days to reach an agreement, failing which the consequences would be "unfortunate" for the country.
On Monday, thousands of Iranians received an anonymous SMS on their cellphones with the message: "The US President is a man of action. Wait and see."
While the White House sources, quoted by many media outlets, have termed a war with Iran “imminent”, the US has been strengthening its military presence in west Asia. AFP has reported that the US military has 13 warships stationed in west Asia, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which arrived last month, nine destroyers and three frigates.
Iran, on the other hand, has spoken in a tough tone as well, retorting that any strikes by the US, including limited strikes, will be considered as an "act of aggression".
Tehran on Monday issued a statement saying that any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right to self-defence ferociously. "So that's what we would do," ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a briefing in Tehran, the AFP reported.
With the apparent softening of stand by Tehran, it remains to be seen if the hostilities will escalate before the talks in Geneva or there will be a let-up in Trump's stance, who has been “fed up”.
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