Details emerge of secret diplomatic efforts to restart Iran talks

CNN

5 hours ago

The Trump administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, four sources familiar with the matter said.
Key players from the US and the Middle East have talked with the Iranians behind the scenes even amid the flurry of military strikes in Iran and Israel over the past two weeks, the sources said. Those discussions have continued this week after a ceasefire deal was struck, the sources said.
Trump administration officials emphasized that several proposals have been floated. They are preliminary and evolving with one consistent non-negotiable: zero Iranian enrichment of uranium, which Iran has consistently said it needs. But at least one preliminary draft proposal, described to CNN by two sources, includes several incentives for Iran.
Some details were hashed out in a secret, hours-long meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Gulf partners at the White House last Friday, the day before US military strikes against Iran, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Among the terms being discussed, which have not been previously reported, is an estimated $20-30 billion investment in a new Iranian non-enrichment nuclear program that would be used for civilian energy purposes, Trump administration officials and sources familiar with the proposal told CNN. One official insisted that money would not come directly from the US, which prefers its Arab partners foot the bill. Investment in Iran's nuclear energy facilities has been discussed in previous rounds of nuclear talks in recent months.
'The US is willing to lead these talks' with Iran, the Trump administration official told CNN. 'And someone is going to need to pay for the nuclear program to be built, but we will not make that commitment.'
Other incentives include potentially removing some sanctions on Iran and allowing Tehran to access the $6 billion currently sitting in foreign bank accounts that it is restricted from freely using, according to the draft described to CNN.
Another idea floated last week that is currently being considered is for US-backed allies in the Gulf to pay to replace the Fordow nuclear facility – which the US hit with bunker-buster bombs over the weekend – with the non-enrichment program, two sources familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear if Iran would be able to use the site itself, nor was it clear how seriously that proposal was being considered.
'There are a lot of ideas being thrown around by different people and a lot of them are trying to be creative,' one of the sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
'I think it is entirely uncertain what will happen here,' said a separate source familiar with the first five rounds of talks between the US and Iran that occurred before the Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear program.
Witkoff told CNBC Wednesday that the US is seeking a 'comprehensive peace agreement,' and a Trump administration official emphasized that all of the proposals are designed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The US has said that Iran may have a nuclear program for peaceful civilian purposes, but that it cannot enrich the uranium for that program. Instead, the US has suggested Iran could import the enriched uranium. Witkoff likened the potential program to that of the United Arab Emirates.
'Now the issue and the conversation with Iran is going to be, how do we rebuild a better civil nuclear program for you that is non-enrichable?' he told CNBC.
The administration may have an opportunity to present a term sheet to the Iranians. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US and Iran would be sitting down next week – though Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said he was not aware of talks next week, and people involved in the planning said that details were still being worked out.
Sources familiar with the discussions told CNN that no dates have been set yet.
Despite the fervent diplomacy led by Witkoff behind the scenes, Trump this week publicly downplayed the necessity of a nuclear agreement, saying on Wednesday that he believed such an agreement was 'not necessary.'
'I don't care if I have an agreement or not,' he said.
While the president seemed publicly indifferent to hashing out a new deal after clinching a ceasefire agreement, many of his advisers believe the pursuit of a longer-term deal will ensure the ceasefire has longevity.
The terms that were developed in Witkoff's secret meeting have been the subject of continued discussion between the US and Iran through regional interlocutors – primarily the Qataris – in recent days. Qatar also played a key role in brokering the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran earlier this week, and will be working very closely with the US to ensure that fighting between them will not resume, one of the sources added.
There is hope within the Trump administration that after the events of the past two weeks Iran is more likely to accede to the US conditions and halt efforts that could bring it closer to a developing a nuclear weapon.
But Iranian experts cite the possible scenario that the Iranian regime may now decide that it needs a nuclear weapon. Earlier in the week the Iranian parliament approved legislation to end cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog, signaling a desire to further conceal their nuclear program.
Prior to Israel's military operation against Iran roughly two weeks ago, the US and Iranians had held five rounds of negotiations to try to reach a framework for a new nuclear deal. The US had presented a proposal to Tehran, and Iran was expected to respond during a planned sixth round of negotiations in Oman. Those talks were scuttled by Israel's attacks on Iran.
On Saturday, ahead of US strikes on three of Iran's nuclear sites, the Trump administration communicated with Iran through intermediaries. Their message was twofold: forthcoming US strikes would be contained, but also that the US terms for a diplomatic deal with Iran were clear and simple: no uranium enrichment, sources said.
Trump has been circumspect about the prospects of a deal, telling reporters after announcing talks with Iran next week: 'We may sign an agreement, I don't know.'
'I could get a statement that they're not going to go nuclear, we're probably going to ask for that,' Trump said at a NATO summit on Wednesday.
The president added that his administration would be asking for the same type of commitments they sought in negotiations with Iran prior to the most recent conflict between Israel and Iran.
'The only thing we'd be asking for is what we were asking for before,' Trump said, adding that he wants 'no nuclear.'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, said Wednesday that any such deal would depend on Iran's willingness to negotiate directly with the US, not through intermediaries.
'We'd love to have peaceful relations with any country in the world. And so obviously that will depend on Iran's willingness not just to engage in peace, but to negotiate directly with the United States, not through a third-country or fourth-country process,' Rubio said at a press conference alongside Trump in The Hague.
Witkoff on Wednesday said there are 'signs' that an agreement can be reached.
'We're having conversations with the Iranians. There are multiple interlocutors reaching out to us,' he told CNBC. 'I think that they're ready.'