An Iranian lawmaker has revealed for the first time that Tehran had been in contact with the Trump team over the past two years. If accurate, this could partly explain the rapid progress in the nuclear talks following just two sessions in April—especially after 18 months of negotiations under the Biden administration failed to produce an agreement.
Mohammad-Mehdi Shahriari, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told local media that Iran’s diplomatic apparatus had shown strategic foresight by establishing contact with Donald Trump’s team two years ago. “During those meetings, the other side raised only the nuclear issue,” he said. Shahriari added that accurate, first-hand information from these interactions had been directly relayed to the Supreme Leader and the Foreign Ministry months in advance. “The decisions being made today are based on the contacts and intelligence gathered over the past several years,” he noted.
“The decisions being made today are based on the contacts and intelligence gathered over the past several years.”
Shahriari explained that the Iranian mission and others at the United Nations in New York, which he called “our lobbies,” were in contact with the Trump team.
Iranian government officials, media, and analysts seem to be genuinely surprised by the positive results, which in their view can only mean one thing: Trump is willing to allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment, albeit at lower levels that can be justified by civilian nuclear power.
Also notable is Shahriari’s claim that the Trump team focused solely on the nuclear issue during these early contacts, without raising concerns about Iran’s regional activities or its ballistic missile program. Although President Trump occasionally mentioned these topics after taking office, there was no consistent or sustained emphasis on non-nuclear issues—and no mention at all of Tehran’s serious human rights violations.
The first White House announcement on February 4, after the president declared the re-imposition of his “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic, mentioned Tehran’s support for terror groups in the Middle East, and its ballistic missile program. However, in subsequent public remarks, the president and senior officials highlighted mainly the nuclear issue.
The Iranian side issued glowing assessments of the second round of talks in Rome on April 19, calling it successful and promising. What is more noteworthy is an agreement for expert groups to meet this week to work on technical details, signaling that preliminary agreements have been reached on some key issues. The delegations are slated to meet again on April 26.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement,” he said.
The emerging deal could closely resemble the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed under President Obama.
There has been no clear indication of whether Iran will be allowed to continue uranium enrichment, though a statement from the Omani mediators suggested support for a peaceful nuclear program. Iran maintains that enriching uranium to 3.67 percent is necessary to fuel its only nuclear reactor, despite the fact that low-grade fuel can readily be imported from other countries.
In the past four years, Tehran has been enriching up to 60 percent, a level not needed for any civilian purpose. Now it is signaling that it would be willing to ship out the accumulated fissile material to a third country, possibly Russia.
Although the Iranian lawmaker’s claim cannot be independently verified, the quick progress can be a hint of indirect negotiations prior to the first meeting in Oman. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had already hinted at Iran being allowed to continue low-level enrichment, which last week was met with quick statements by the administration that Tehran will never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
If the United States is indeed prepared to allow uranium enrichment, Iran would have little reason to delay reaching an agreement that could lift the crippling U.S. sanctions. In effect, the emerging deal could closely resemble the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed under President Obama.
