Iran is ready to consider compromises to reach a nuclear deal with the US if the Americans are willing to discuss lifting sanctions, an Iranian minister has told the
BBC.
US officials have repeatedly emphasised that Iran, not the US, is holding up progress in this protracted negotiating process.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump preferred a deal but it was "very hard to do" one with Iran.
But in an interview with the BBC in Tehran, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said the ball was "in America's court to prove that they want to do a deal", adding: "If they are sincere, I'm sure we will be on the road to an agreement."
Trump has threatened strikes against Iran if a deal to curb its nuclear programme cannot be reached, with the US building up its military presence in the region.
This followed Iran's violent repression of nationwide anti-government protests last month, which human rights groups say killed many thousands of people.
The US and Iran held indirect talks in the Gulf state of Oman earlier in February, and Takht-Ravanchi, who confirmed a second round was set to take place in Geneva on Tuesday, said they had been "more or less in a positive direction but it is too early to judge". Trump has also described those talks as positive.
The deputy foreign minister pointed to Tehran's offer to dilute its 60%-enriched uranium as evidence of its willingness to compromise.
At near weapons-grade level, it has deepened suspicion that the Islamic Republic is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied.
"We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our programme if they are ready to talk about sanctions," Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. He would not confirm whether this meant lifting all or some sanctions.
As to whether Iran would agree to ship its stockpile of more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium out of Iran, as it did in the 2015 nuclear deal, Takht-Ravanchi said "it was too early to say what will happen in the course of negotiations".
