Carnegie nuclear conference cancels appearance by Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Changes requested by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prompted the cancellation on Monday of his participation in a nuclear policy conference in Washington. Shortly before Mr Araghchi's scheduled online appearance at the event, a representative for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told those in attendance that at the last minute, the Iranian team had asked to cut back the question-and-answer portion. 'Unfortunately, the Foreign Minister's team subsequently requested changes to the previously agreed format, which would have severely curtailed the ability of the moderator and the audience to question the Foreign Minister,' the Carnegie International Policy Conference said in an email elaborating on the decision. 'As a result, Carnegie made the decision not to proceed with the session.' In a statement to The National, Iran's mission to the UN accused the Carnegie Endowment of trying to 'alter the format of the keynote into a debate'. Mr Araghchi was not on the original list of speakers for 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, but was added on Saturday. In place of Mr Aragchi, Carnegie bumped up a panel discussion about nuclear policy, Ukraine and Russia. Mr Araghchi's appearance at the Washington event would have come as talks between Iran and the US on Tehran's nuclear programme gain momentum following a series of meetings in Rome. For years, Washington and Tehran have been at odds over Iran's nuclear activities. The US fears Iran is working towards building a nuclear weapon, but Tehran claims its programme is for peaceful purposes. The second round of negotiations led by Mr Araghchi and US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff ended on a positive note in the Italian capital. The Oman-brokered talks lasted for four hours and officials declared it a 'good meeting' that yielded progress. On Sunday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi thanked Mr Araghchi and Mr Witkoff 'for their highly constructive approach' to the discussions. 'These talks are gaining momentum and now even the unlikely is possible,' Mr Al Busaidi said on X.
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