Iran plans to submit own nuclear proposal to US soon
TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday it will soon present a counter-proposal on a nuclear deal with the United States, after it had described Washington's offer as containing "ambiguities". Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington describing it as a "red line".
On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later saying the text contained "ambiguities". Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei criticised the US proposal as "lacking elements" reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations, without providing further details. "We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side once it is finalised," Baqaei told a weekly press briefing. "It is a proposal that is reasonable, logical and balanced, and we strongly recommend that the American side value this opportunity."
Also on Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told state news agency IRNA that Iran's response "is a framework for agreement". "If we reach an understanding on this framework in principle, further extensive negotiations will begin on its details," he added. Iran's parliament speaker has said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.
Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said Tehran will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal. On Wednesday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US offer was "100 per cent against" notions of independence and self-reliance. He insisted that uranium enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear programme and that the US "cannot have a say" on the issue.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67-per cent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 per cent needed for a nuclear warhead. The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear activities among other topics. "I call upon Iran urgently to cooperate fully and effectively with the International Atomic Energy Agency," said agency chief Rafael Grossi in his opening speech. "Unless and until Iran assists the agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," he added. — AFP
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