Iranian Majlis National Security And Foreign Policy Committee Member Ahmad Bakhshayish Ardastani: As Part Of Its Mediation Efforts In The U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks, Oman Proposed That We Stop Enriching

Memri

a day ago

In a May 26, 2025 interview with the Didbaniran website, Ahmad Bakhshayish Ardastani, a member of the Iranian Majlis National Security And Foreign Policy Committee, detailed the main points of an Omani mediation offer proposed to Iran on May 23, as part of Oman's mediation efforts in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, and announced that the quantity of 60%-enriched uranium in Iran was enough for 10 nuclear bombs. The interview was removed from the Didbaniran website shortly after it was posted.
The Omani proposal, conveyed to Iran in the fifth round of the talks, covered two areas. First, it proposed that Iran would agree to temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment for six months, after which it would restart it. In the interview, Bakhshayish Ardastan stressed that Iran had not yet agreed to this proposal due to its lack of confidence in the U.S., and added that Iran already had enough uranium enriched to 60% to make several nuclear bombs that "Iran is capable of building." He said: "The 300 kilograms of the uranium stored in Iran is equal to 10 nuclear bombs, and if Israel continues its threats, we will be able to increase the enrichment level even more."
The second area in the Omani proposal concerned the idea of a regional nuclear consortium that Iran had agreed to, provided that it retains the right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil and to be paid by Arab countries to share its nuclear achievements with them. Bakhshayish Ardastani clarified that Iran was making any agreement to increased international oversight of its nuclear facilities conditional upon a lifting of all U.S. sanctions on it – something that has been Iran's main aim in the negotiations with the Trump administration.
Also in the interview, Bakhshayish Ardastani assessed that President Trump and his advisor Steve Witkoff were working to artificially increase the pressure on Iran as a negotiating tactic, but that they would not give up on achieving an agreement because they need to show that their diplomacy is effective. He stressed that ultimately it would be the Americans who back down from their positions, and that Iran would hold to its red line – the right to enrich uranium on its soil.
Bakhshayish Ardastani (Source: Akharinkhabar.ir, May 26, 2025)
He also called on Qatar and Oman to come up with interim solutions in order to arrive at an agreement with the Americans.
Addressing the Arab states, and hinting that military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran would severely impact them, Bakhshayish Ardastani assessed that President Trump would refrain from going to war and would turn to sanctions, as he had in the past. He warned that if Israel attacks Iran, "the [Israeli] nuclear facility in Dimona on occupied territory will be under threat" and that Israel would be facing Iranian attacks of "hundreds or thousands of missiles." He added that if Iran and the U.S. reach an agreement, it would also serve Israel, which would be able to enjoy more peaceful relations with Iran.
The following is a translation of Bakhshayish Ardastani's interview with the Didbaniran website, which as noted was removed from the website shortly after it was posted:
Bakhshayish Ardastani: "It Is Unlikely That The Other Side [The U.S.] Will Leave The Negotiating Table... It Needs An Agreement With Iran As An Achievement Of [Trump's] Diplomacy... It Is The Americans Who Will Ultimately Change Their Positions – Not Iran"
Bakhshayish Ardastani said in the interview:
"Despite the difficulties on the path to reaching an Iran-U.S. agreement, the overall assessment of the negotiation process is positive, and it appears that these negotiations will attain results. The longer the negotiations last, the more likely it is that both sides will arrive at an understanding of their differences, and their continuation is not necessarily a sign that they are progressing badly.
"We have had problems with the West on the nuclear issue for some 36 years, of the 47 years since the Islamic Revolution. Of course, during the past few decades, Iran has successfully achieved independence in its nuclear industry thanks to the initiative of its scientists, and the [uranium] enrichment program is the result of the efforts by our elites. Iran has no problem with other countries in the region activating their own nuclear industry, but the thing is that if the Arab countries want a nuclear program, they need to purchase their infrastructure from other countries. Happily, we have succeeded in building all the required infrastructure in our own country.
"The longer the negotiations last, the more interested the sides are in reaching a solution, although there is no doubt that significant obstacles lie in the path of a possible agreement. In any event, the [2015 JCPOA] nuclear agreement remains the basis of the current negotiations, and since this agreement allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67%, Iran now wants to advance at least one step beyond that agreement. Trump also wants to show Obama that he can be a stronger diplomat than him, and therefore he does not want to accept continued Iranian uranium enrichment.
"So far, both Iran and America have held fast to their red lines, but given that Trump and Witkoff are both [real estate] mediators, and had experience in real estate before they were [political] negotiators, they are deliberately increasing the pressure so that Iran will maybe agree to back down from its red lines. But if Iran does not do so, it is unlikely that the other side [the U.S.] will leave the negotiating table, because it needs an agreement with Iran as an achievement of [Trump's] diplomacy. Therefore, it is the Americans who will ultimately change their positions [i.e. not Iran]."
"Both Oman And Qatar Must Help Propose Interim Solutions Acceptable To Both Sides"
Bakhshayish Ardastani continued: "Today, both Oman and Qatar must help propose interim solutions acceptable to both sides. One of these solutions is establishing a nuclear consortium of the countries of the region, with Iran at its center. That is, provided that [uranium] enrichment takes place on Iranian soil, international institutions will monitor the activity of this consortium in order to clarify that Iran is not planning to use its enriched uranium for building an atom bomb.
"Some Arab countries may think that if an Iran-U.S. war breaks out, it will be over in two or three weeks. But Iran is stronger than this talk. Iran is a country that fought Iraq for eight years, and America recently launched an unceasing attack on the Houthis [that has been continuing] for over a month, but it has not been able to defeat them. Thus, if there is an Iran-America war, the region will definitely have to deal with tensions over time. For this reason, Trump is moving away from war and will ultimately move to 'maximal pressure' in the event that no agreement is reached."
"We Are Willing To Put Our [Nuclear] Achievements At The Disposal Of Arab Countries In Exchange For A Reasonable Fee"
"During the last [i.e. the fifth] round of talks, Oman set out two proposals for Iran, and according to [Iranian] Foreign Minister [Abbas Araghchi], our country is examining these proposals. One is to establish a nuclear consortium, with the participation of the Arab countries, that can increase monitoring of Iran's activity, in order to prove to America that Iran is not increasing its uranium enrichment above what is noted in a possible future agreement. Iran welcomed this proposal, because we are confident about our domestic nuclear industry and are willing to put our achievements at the disposal of Arab countries in exchange for a reasonable fee.
"Oman [also] told us to stop the enrichment for six months and then restart it. Of course, Iran has not yet accepted [this] second Omani proposal, because, based on previous experience, there is a possibility of additional demands from the other side [the U.S.]. For example, the last time we agreed, in the [2015 JCPOA] nuclear agreement, to exceptional oversight of our nuclear facilities, but then the Americans again increased the pressure [on us]. Therefore, Iran is not likely to accept this offer. But the longer the negotiations continue, the more interim solutions will certainly be proposed by the mediators."
"The Whole World Knows That Iran Is Capable Of Building Nuclear Weapons, But... We Are Not Advancing Towards Producing An Atom Bomb"
"Iran does not fear increased international monitoring of its nuclear activity. The whole world knows that Iran is capable of building nuclear weapons, but since there is no intention to do so in our country, we are not advancing towards producing an atom bomb. We have a home-grown nuclear industry and we have no problem with oversight by international organizations, provided that along with increased oversight, we will obtain the necessary relief – that is, the sanctions imposed on Iran are lifted and our country's frozen funds are restored to us. Thus, we even accept oversight beyond [what is stipulated in] the NPT, as long as America lifts the sanctions and as long as we can enrich [uranium] to a certain level within the country.
"The Zionist regime cannot carry out an attack without approval from America, and as long as the negotiations are underway, the U.S. will not give such approval to the Zionist regime. Second, if Israel attacks Iran, the nuclear facility in Dimona, in the occupied territories [Israel], will be under threat. Third, the True Promise I and II operations [Iran's April and October 2024 missile and drone attacks on Israel] proved to Israel that Iran is not like an Arab country – it is a strong country that cannot be attacked without consequences.
"At this time, the Houthis can easily fire their missiles without Israel's defenses being able to intercept them, and in recent weeks they have repeatedly targeted Ben Gurion airport. Therefore, Israel knows that it is located in a small area and cannot withstand the hundreds or thousands of Iranian missiles that will be launched into the occupied territories if our nuclear facilities are attacked. Overall, it would be in Israel's interest for Iran and America to reach an agreement and then an understanding, so that Iran and Israel can also enjoy a more peaceful relationship with each other.
"Despite the hostile relationship between Iran and the Zionist regime, it is unlikely that this regime will attack Iran. But it is the nature of the Zionists [to carry out] terrorism and sabotage. On the nuclear issue, the assassinations and sabotage carried out by Israel set back Iran's nuclear program, but nevertheless we did not stopped advancing, and now we have reached a point where we already have enough 60%-enriched uranium to produce several atomic bombs. The 300 kilograms of uranium stored in Iran is equivalent to 10 atomic bombs – and if Israel continues its threats, we will be able to increase the enrichment level even more.
"Israeli lobbyists' pressure on American politicians is another move that has always been made against Iran, and they are now working to disrupt a possible agreement. In the current negotiations, we saw that by the end of the third round, Trump was willing to accept Iranian uranium enrichment. But then [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's words reached Trump's mouth, and he [Trump] emphasized that there must be zero uranium enrichment.
"Of course, in the end, it is America that will back down from its demands, and Iran will not abandon its red lines."[1]