Iran reviewing proposal for fifth round of nuclear talks
Iran's deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said talks would fail if the US insists Iran refrains from enrichment. (EPA Images file pic)
DUBAI : Iran has received, and is reviewing, a proposal for a fifth round of nuclear talks with the US, deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday, according to state media.
US President Donald Trump said last week that a new nuclear deal with Tehran was getting very close as the latter was provided with a proposal, adding that Iranians need to 'move quickly or something bad is going to happen'.
The US president has repeatedly warned Iran it would be bombed and face severe sanctions if it did not reach a compromise to resolve its disputed nuclear programme.
An Iranian official told Reuters that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend in Rome, although this remains to be confirmed.
Although a foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran would continue negotiations, talks remain on shaky ground as both Iran and the US have clashed on the issue of nuclear enrichment.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, another Iranian deputy foreign minister, said on Monday that talks would fail if Washington insists that Tehran refrains from enrichment, which the US says is a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
Tehran says its nuclear energy programme has entirely peaceful purposes.
During his first term as president, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's enrichment activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
Trump, who branded the 2015 accord one-sided in Iran's favour, also reimposed sweeping US sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded by escalating enrichment.
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Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent, far above the 3.67 per cent limit set by a largely moribund 2015 agreement with major powers, but still short of the 90 per cent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.
