CNN
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A senior Iranian official told CNN that the new nuclear deal proposals presented to Tehran were “inconsistent and disjointed.”
Private pessimism contrasts with President Donald Trump’s public optimism last week, saying the administration was “very close to a solution.”
CNN also learned that the US has changed its position on the issue of uranium enrichment in its new proposal. It suggests that the US could invest in Iran’s private nuclear programmes and participate in a consortium that oversees the enrichment of low levels of uranium within Iran for an unspecified period. The consortium is expected to include the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog of the Middle East and the United Nations.
Previously, senior US officials said enrichment within Iran would not be under the new deal, and top US officials have requested that Iran cease enrichment and only import materials. The prospect of allowing a continued low level of enrichment in the country could have brought the US, Israel and the Harkens Iran Hawks back to the 2015 nuclear deal, and Trump withdrawn from there.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said they are open to the idea of an enrichment consortium, but they have argued that Iran must be able to continue to control its own enrichment capabilities.
A senior Iranian official on Monday condemned the new proposal, saying “at first glance it is inconsistent, ignored, very unrealistic and excessively demanding.”
They argued that the main barrier to progress was the US contradiction.
“The fact that Americans are constantly changing their positions has been a major obstacle to successful consultations so far, and now it makes work more difficult than ever,” the official added.
Officials also argued that the latest texts directly contradicted prior understanding.
“The text is clearly in conflict with the latest agreement reached during the negotiations for the fifth round,” the official said. They reaffirmed Tehran’s uncompromising stance on enrichment as a serious issue, saying “Iran’s position on enrichment is solid and unshakable.”
Iran and the United States concluded their fifth round of high stakes nuclear talks in Rome on May 23. After that round of speech, both sides “consented to reunite in the near future,” a US administration official said at the time.
But now, the next round of consultations is very uncertain and may not happen at all, a familiar source said.