TEHRAN – The US proposal submitted to Iran via Oman on Saturday calls for an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment. Tehran was personally and publicly consistently rejected as indirect negotiations for Tehran’s nuclear program began in April.
So far, Iran and the US have held five rounds of talks under Omani mediation, aiming to reach a deal that places restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the end of sanctions. The negotiations are led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut and Special US President Engoi Steve Witkov.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said in these debates that uranium enrichment remains at the red line. After years of enduring sanctions and seeing nuclear scientists assassinated by Israel, Iran says it’s pointless for the country to abandon the cornerstone of its nuclear program.
The current talks began after President Donald Trump sent a letter to Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Seiyed Ali Khamenei, showing his willingness to ease his stance from his first term when he called for the withdrawal of the JCPOA, the first nuclear deal, and demanded that the new agreement include Iran’s military and foreign policy detention.
So far, the US has avoided raising the nuclear-free issue, the Tehran Times has learned. However, recent claims to stop the enrichment of uranium, a shift from its initial position in early April, raised questions about the integrity of reaching the Washington deal.
Questions among Iranian political factions first increased after the third round of talks. Witkov and other US officials have told media separately that Iran must stop abundance and demolish related facilities. These statements were repeated sporadically in the weeks that followed, and also by the volatile analysts who initially believed both parties were suited to the agreement.
Before Iran agreed to enter negotiations, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed skepticism that the discussion with the US would bring about consequences. This is a prediction that appears to be increasingly plausible.
Araghchi himself shunned optimism throughout the five rounds, but after a seven-year “maximum pressure” campaign failed, he speculated that Trump was ready to pivot towards a mutually beneficial deal.