Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (right) welcoming the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, last year before a meeting in Tehran. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
The Trump administration presented Iran with a written nuclear proposal during the fourth round of negotiations on Sunday, the U.S. news website Axios reported Thursday. This marks the first time since the talks began in early April that White House envoy Steve Witkoff formally submitted a proposal to the Iranian delegation.
According to Axios, the document was handed to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Oman. Araghchi then reportedly returned to Tehran to consult with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials.
Speaking in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he had extended "an olive branch" to Iran, but he warned: "This is not an offer that will last forever. The time is right now for them to choose."
During the first round of talks, Araghchi submitted a written document outlining several Iranian proposals. Witkoff declined to engage with it at the time, citing a desire to "build rapport first," according to a source familiar with the meeting.
In the third round, held in late April, Araghchi presented an updated version of the proposal. This time, Witkoff accepted the document, and a team of U.S. experts reviewed it before sending Iran a list of questions and requests for clarification. The Iranian side responded with answers and submitted additional queries of its own, two sources told Axios.
Meanwhile, Witkoff’s team drafted a U.S. proposal outlining the Trump administration’s terms for permitting a civilian nuclear program in Iran, including specific monitoring and verification measures. According to sources cited by Axios, the proposal also addressed one of the most contentious issues — Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity. U.S. officials had previously given mixed signals on the matter, making the written proposal a significant step.
A senior adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei told NBC News that Iran is prepared to sign a deal limiting uranium enrichment to low levels required for civilian use and committing to relinquish its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. In return, Iran expects the U.S. to lift all sanctions, with compliance monitored by international inspectors, Axios reported.
Last Wednesday, Witkoff briefed the U.N. Security Council, describing the U.S. proposal as "elegant" and "very big," while acknowledging that "more progress" was still needed, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Axios. The proposal was officially handed to Araghchi during a meeting in Oman, the news outlet continued.
The mood following the fourth round of negotiations was cautiously optimistic. Witkoff expressed confidence in the talks' trajectory, which concluded just before Trump departed on a Middle East tour. However, no date has been set for a fifth round of discussions.
During a meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, Trump emphasized the stakes: "I hope you can help me with the Iran situation. It's a perilous situation, and we want to do the right thing." He added, "We're not going to let that happen," referring to the risk of war, which he said can "get out of control" and "I've seen it over and over again."
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Trump said the U.S. is "close to a deal with Iran" and characterized the talks as "very serious." He added, "They agreed to the terms ... they are not going to make nuclear dust."
Senior diplomats from Iran and the E3 — France, the U.K. and Germany — are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday, the first such meeting in two months. European diplomats told Axios that the E3 are prepared to trigger the "snapback" sanctions mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal if a new agreement is not reached by August.
