Washington, DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement following the conclusion of the fifth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations that were held in Rome, Italy:
“For all those who hope that negotiations can keep the dogs of war at bay, today’s outcome is optimistic. Following significant negotiating in the press over recent weeks and efforts by outside parties to insert maximalist ultimatums to tank the talks, it would not have been unexpected if the fifth round of negotiations collapsed in a clear impasse. Yet, the U.S. and Iran seem to have made some progress, with the Iranians citing a professional atmosphere and crediting Oman with putting some favorable proposals on the table. Much more work is needed to bridge the gaps on enrichment and move from concepts to concrete and written understandings. We encourage all sides to filter out the noise and disregard unnecessary ultimatums in pursuit of a pragmatic resolution that averts war and meets the bottom line of preventing weaponization of Iran’s nuclear program.”
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