US President Donald Trump’s contradicting stand on the Iran nuclear deal has further complicated the prospects of reaching a “meaningful and decisive” enrichment deal between Tehran and Washington.
On Saturday, US negotiators presented a proposal to Iran with conditions of allowing some limited Uranium enrichment within the country. However, Trump on Monday backtracked from the proposal, stating that any agreement with Iran would ban all enrichment.
Reports on Tuesday suggested that a proposal given to Iran by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi would allow Iran to retain low levels of enrichment for civilian uses like nuclear medicine and commercial power if it agreed to shut down its heavily protected underground sites for some time.
“This proposal poses a moment of truth for critics of previous Iran nuclear negotiations/agreements (and) those who have called for a no-enrichment, full-dismantlement deal,” Dan Shapiro, Obama’s former ambassador to Israel, wrote on X. “Will they hold Trump to the same standard?” he asked.
The US negotiations team, led by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, has said that he agrees with Israel’s insistence that any deal must include dismantling of the entire nuclear facility, including the centrifuges built by Iran, a demand that Tehran has outrightly rejected.
However, both he and Trump have previously offered mixed public messages about whether Iran would be allowed to retain the capacity to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian purposes.
“President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,” US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response.
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“Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it’s in their best interest to accept it. Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.”
The US has promised to lift crippling sanctions on Iran that have been in place since the early 1980s; however, Washington has said the probability would only be considered if Iran “demonstrates real commitment” to the terms of the deal, as determined by Washington and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Meanwhile, Tehran has repeatedly assured cooperation over the nuclear program talks; however, it has also demanded the assured guarantees that the United States would lift sanctions if Iran follows the terms in the proposal, unlike the 2015 fiasco.
Washington has so far not issued any statement on whether it will fully lift the sanctions imposed on the Iranian economy, though there are considerations of lifting some sanctions that will allow Iran to breathe.
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