The U.S. proposal made to Iran for a nuclear deal is "acceptable" and in the "best interest" of Tehran according to the White House, American media reported Saturday.
Iran said Saturday it had received "elements" of an American proposal at the end of five rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman and affirmed through its Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, that it would respond appropriately. "Special envoy [Steve] Witkoff sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it is in their best interest to accept it," said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, as reported by the New York Times.
The proposal was described as a series of bullet points rather than a complete draft, according to the New York Times, citing officials familiar with the diplomatic exchanges. It calls on Iran to cease all uranium enrichment and proposes the creation of a regional group to produce nuclear energy, which would include Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states, as well as the United States.
Washington and Tehran have been conducting discussions for several weeks to try to find a new nuclear agreement.
Iran has further accelerated its production rate of highly enriched uranium, according to a confidential report by the IAEA, deemed "political" Saturday by Iran.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran and the United States were "quite close to an agreement," a optimism however tempered by Araghchi, who is "not sure" of the "imminence" of an agreement. Negotiations are currently stalling on the issue of uranium enrichment: the United States demands that Iran completely renounce it, while Tehran categorically refuses.
Western countries suspect Tehran of wanting to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran defends itself from having such military ambitions but emphasizes its right to civilian nuclear energy. On Saturday, Araghchi thus deemed nuclear weapons "unacceptable."
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