The US has despatched Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, the White Home confirmed on Saturday.
Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi stated he had been introduced with “components of a US deal” by his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi throughout a brief go to to the Iranian capital.
It comes after a report by the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had additional stepped up its manufacturing of enriched uranium, a key part within the making of nuclear weapons.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Saturday it was in Tehran’s “greatest curiosity to just accept” the deal, including: “President Trump has made it clear that Iran can by no means receive a nuclear bomb”.
Leavitt stated a “detailed and acceptable” proposal had been despatched to Iran by US President Donald Trump’s particular envoy Steve Witkoff.
The US proposal “will likely be appropriately responded to in keeping with the ideas, nationwide pursuits and rights of the individuals of Iran”, Araghchi wrote on X.
The exact particulars of the deal will not be but clear.
The proposal follows a report by the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) – seen by the BBC – which discovered Iran now possesses over 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity – near the 90% purity required for weapons-grade uranium.
That is properly above the extent of purity ample for civilian nuclear energy and analysis functions.
It’s sufficient for about 10 nuclear weapons if additional refined, making Iran the one non nuclear-armed state producing uranium at this stage.
The report paves the way in which for the US, Britain, France and Germany to push for the IAEA’s board of governors to search out Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations.
Iran insists its programme is peaceable. On Saturday, Iranian state media described the IAEA report as “politically motivated” containing “baseless accusations”.
Iran has stated it’ll “implement acceptable measures” in response to any effort to take motion towards Tehran on the IAEA governors’ assembly.
The US has lengthy sought to restrict Iran’s nuclear capability. Talks between the 2 powers mediated by Oman have been beneath manner since April.
Either side have expressed optimism in the course of the course of the talks however stay divided over key points – chief amongst them, whether or not Iran can proceed enrichment beneath any future settlement.
Regardless of the continuing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, the IAEA report supplied no indication that Iran has slowed its nuclear enrichment efforts.
Iran has produced extremely enriched uranium at a charge equal to roughly one nuclear weapon monthly over the previous three months, the IAEA report discovered.
US officers estimate that, if Iran chooses to make a weapon, it may produce weapons-grade materials in lower than two weeks and probably construct a bomb inside months.
Iran has lengthy denied it’s making an attempt to develop nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, the IAEA stated it couldn’t affirm whether or not this was nonetheless the case as a result of Iran refuses to grant entry to senior inspectors and has not answered longstanding questions on its nuclear historical past.
Trump is searching for a brand new nuclear settlement with Tehran after pulling the US out of a earlier nuclear settlement between Iran and 6 world powers in 2018.
This nuclear deal, often known as the Joint Complete Plan of Motion or JCPOA, was signed in 2015 by Iran and the US, China, France, Russia, Germany and the UK.
The JCPOA sought to restrict and monitor Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions that had been positioned on the regime in 2010 over suspicions that its nuclear programme was getting used to develop a bomb.
However Donald Trump withdrew from the deal throughout his first time period in workplace, claiming JCPOA was a “unhealthy deal” as a result of it was not everlasting and didn’t deal with Iran’s ballistic missile programme, amongst different issues.
Trump then re-imposed US sanctions as a part of a “most stress” marketing campaign to compel Iran to barter a brand new and expanded settlement.
Within the intervening years, Tehran has steadily overstepped the 2015 settlement’s limits on its nuclear programme, designed to make it more durable to develop an atomic bomb.
Trump has beforehand threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear services if diplomacy fails to attain a deal.
