Iran’s negotiators are heading to Rome to meet with US envoy with full authority and a mandate rooted in nine principles, according to Ali Shamkhani, former Supreme National Security Council secretary and adviser to the Supreme Leader.
Shamkhani, in a post on X Saturday, said the delegation will approach the talks with seriousness, while expecting concrete guarantees from the US side.
He also referred to balance as one of the principles, meaning no party should walk away with all the gains. Other conditions include “sanctions relief, rejection of the Libya or UAE model, a halt to US threats, swift progress, containment of disruptive actors like Israel, and facilitation of foreign investment.”
“Iran is here for a balanced deal, not surrender,” he wrote. The comments come ahead of Saturday’s scheduled new round of negotiations with the US.
Shamkhani’s statement highlights Iran’s position of maintaining a uranium enrichment program, rejecting the Libyan example when Muammar Gadhafi surrendered his nuclear weapons program, or the UAE model, which is purely civilian.
While the Trump administration appears divided over the goals of the talks with Iran, the president and senior officials have repeatedly emphasized that Tehran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons—implying that Iran’s current uranium enrichment activities should be permanently halted.
Axios website previously quoted an Israeli official as saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports a Libya-style model for Iran—complete dismantlement of its nuclear program.
US Senator Lindsey Graham has also echoed that position, but Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi dismissed it, saying, “They can only dream of that.”
