Iran rejects push to suspend uranium enrichment to reach US deal

Iran rejects push to suspend uranium enrichment to reach US deal
By Ahmad Parhizi
Tehran (AFP) May 26, 2025

Iran on Monday ruled out suspending uranium enrichment as part of any nuclear deal with the United States -- a key demand from Washington in successive rounds of talks between the foes.

The issue has come into focus in recent weeks, with Iran staunchly defending its right to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civilian nuclear programme, while the United States wants it to stop.

The negotiations, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the two sides since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord during US President Donald Trump's first term.

Trump described the latest round of discussions in Rome as "very, very good", while Iran's foreign minister described it as "complicated".

Since returning to office, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on the Islamic republic, backing diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.

Tehran wants a new deal that would ease sanctions battering its economy.

Western governments and Israel suspect Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons -- a charge it strongly denies.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the talks for Washington, said the United States "could not authorise even one percent" of enrichment by Iran.

- 'Totally false' -

On Monday, Iran ruled out suspending its uranium enrichment.

"This information is a figment of the imagination and totally false," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, asked about the possibility during a press briefing in Tehran.

Iran insists it has the right to a civilian nuclear programme, including for energy, and considers the US demand a red line that violates the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which it is a signatory.

Following the latest round of Omani-mediated talks in Rome, Iran's foreign minister and lead negotiator Abbas Araghchi downplayed the progress, stressing "the negotiations are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings".

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the fifth round concluded "with some but not conclusive progress", adding he hoped "the remaining issues" would be clarified in the coming days.

But on Sunday Trump said the ongoing discussions had been "very, very good".

"I think we could have some good news on the Iran front," he said, adding that an announcement could come "over the next two days."

No date has yet been set for the next talks, according to Iran's foreign ministry.

The talks came ahead of a June meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, during which Iran's nuclear activities will be reviewed.

They also come before the October expiry of the 2015 accord, which aimed to allay US and European Union suspicions that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons capability, an ambition that Tehran has consistently denied.

Iran has ramped up its nuclear activities since the collapse of the 2015 deal, and is now enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far above the deal's 3.67 percent cap but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.

Experts say that uranium enriched beyond 20 percent can be further enriched to a weapons-grade level quickly.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to visit Oman this week.

Iran-US nuclear talks: key points of contention
Tehran (AFP) May 24, 2025 - Long-time adversaries Iran and the United States held a fifth round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks on Friday in Rome, but with no breakthrough reported.

However, both sides still described the meeting as constructive and expressed a willingness to continue the discussions.

Here are some of the main obstacles seen to be hampering progress:

- Enrichment -

Iran's enrichment of uranium remains the main sticking point.

The United States and Western countries suspect Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but Iran denies having such ambitions.

It insists that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful civilian purposes.

American officials including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington's delegation at the talks, have spoken out against Iran's enrichment programme.

Witkoff said before the talks that Washington "cannot allow even one percent of enrichment capacity" for Iran.

Tehran has called its enrichment "non-negotiable", arguing that such a demand prevents a deal.

"Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal," Iran's top negotiator and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.

Experts say the fifth round of talks saw a collision of red lines.

"This round was uniquely sensitive, marked by the collision of seemingly irreconcilable public red lines over uranium enrichment," Sina Toossi from the Center for International Policy told AFP.

Iran remains the only non-nuclear state enriching uranium to 60 percent, well above the 3.67 percent limit set under its 2015 accord with Western powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.

The 2015 deal was torpedoed in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term when he unilaterally withdrew the United States from the accord.

- 'Contradictory positions' -

Iran wants the talks to remain strictly focused on its nuclear programme and lifting US sanctions, a stance it has held since April 12 when the first round was held in Oman.

Tehran has criticised what it calls "irrational" demands by Washington and inconsistent signals from US officials.

Araghchi warned that such "contradictory positions", if they persist, "will complicate the talks".

Before the negotiations began, some analysts suggested the United States might seek a broader deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missile programme.

They believed the talks might touch on Tehran's support for the "axis of resistance", the network of anti-Israel armed groups that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Yemen's Huthi rebels.

On April 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Washington to block not only Iran's enrichment of uranium but also its missile development under any possible deal.

Iran opposes non-nuclear issues being discussed in the talks, citing its sovereign rights and defence needs.

- Sanctions -

Even with diplomacy under way, the United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran.

Tehran denounces what it calls Washington's "hostile approach", noting that new sanctions were imposed just ahead of negotiations taking place.

On Wednesday, Washington sanctioned Iran's construction sector, citing its potential links to nuclear, military or missile activities.

"These sanctions ... further put to question the American willingness & seriousness for diplomacy," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.

In late April, before the third round of talks, Washington also slapped sanctions on Iran's oil and gas sector.

- Military option -

The Iran-US talks, their highest-level contacts since Washington quit the 2015 nuclear accord, came after Trump wrote to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in March.

Trump urged Tehran to reach a deal diplomatically, but also warned of military action if talks fail.

Iran has issued warnings of its own.

On Friday, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri warned that "any US misstep in the region will end like Vietnam and Afghanistan".

His remarks came after CNN, citing US officials, reported on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to attack Iranian nuclear sites.

"We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime, the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility," Araghchi said in a letter to the United Nations published on Thursday.

According to the US outlet Axios, Witkoff met Israeli officials shortly before Friday's Rome talks.

Ultra-conservative Iranian daily Kayhan wrote on Saturday that "coordination between Trump and Netanyahu is leading the negotiations towards deadlock".