UK Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, took part in talks between the US and Iran and thought it was possible to reach an agreement before the actions taken by the US and Israel, according to the Guardian UK.
Powell thought that Tehran’s surprising offer about its nuclear program might have stopped the rush toward war.
Britain’s national security adviser, Powell, was present at the concluding discussions between the US and Iran and determined that the offer presented by Tehran concerning its nuclear program was sufficiently significant.
The Guardian reports that Powell thought progress had been made in Geneva and called the deal proposed by Iran ‘surprising’.
It was two days after the talks ended, and after a date was set for more technical discussions in Vienna, that the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran.
The report confirms Powell’s presence at the discussions and his detailed knowledge of their development, as confirmed to the Guardian by three sources.
One source indicated that Powell was present at the ambassadorial residence of Oman in Cologny, serving as an adviser, which reflects the widespread concerns about the US’s expertise in the negotiations, represented by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy on various matters.
Kushner and Witkoff invited Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to join the Geneva talks to share his technical knowledge.
However, Kushner later said that he and Witkoff already had a good grasp of the important issues involved.
Later, nuclear experts pointed out that Witkoff’s comments about the Iran nuclear program had major mistakes and were not accurate.
Powell has a lot of experience in mediation, and one person said he brought in an expert from the UK Cabinet Office.
A western diplomat said, “Jonathan thought there was a deal possible, but Iran wasn’t fully prepared yet, especially when it came to allowing UN inspections of its nuclear sites.”
A former official who was told about the Geneva discussions by some of the people involved said, “Witkoff and Kushner didn’t bring a US technical team with them.
They engaged Grossi as their technical expert, but that is not his role. So Jonathan Powell took his own team.”
The former official said the UK team were surprised by the offer the Iranians made.
“It wasn’t a full agreement, but it was a step forward and probably not the last offer the Iranians would make.”
The British team anticipated the next round of negotiations to proceed based on the progress made in Geneva.
The following round of talks was scheduled for Monday, 2 March in Vienna, but did not take place. The US and Israel started their full-scale attack two days before that.
