Iran says nuclear deal is possible if Washington is realistic

Iran believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear programme with the United States is possible as long as Washington is realistic, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday on the eve of a second round of talks with the Trump administration.

"If they demonstrate seriousness of intent and do not make unrealistic demands, reaching agreements is possible," Araqchi told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia.

Iran had noted the United States' seriousness during a first round of talks on the deal, which took place in Oman last week, Araqchi said. The second round is set for Saturday in Rome.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if it does not agree a deal with the United States over its nuclear programme, which Iran says is peaceful but the West says is aimed at building an atomic bomb.

Lavrov said that Russia was "ready to assist, mediate, and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the U.S.A.".

Moscow has played a role in Iran's nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent Araqchi to Moscow with a letter for President Vladimir Putin to brief the Kremlin about the negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Friday that the U.S. administration is looking for a peaceful solution with Iran but will never tolerate the country developing a nuclear weapon.