Iran could pause uranium enrichment if the United States frees frozen Iranian assets and recognizes Tehran's right to refine uranium for civilian use as part of a "political agreement" that could lead to a broader nuclear deal, two Iranian official sources said, Reuters reported.
Sources close to the negotiating team said today that "a political agreement with the US could be reached soon" if Washington accepts Tehran's conditions.
One of the sources said that this "has not yet been discussed" during talks with the US.
Sources told Reuters that under the arrangement, Tehran would halt uranium enrichment for a year, ship some of its highly enriched stockpile abroad or convert it into fuel rods for civilian nuclear purposes.
A temporary pause in enrichment would be a way to overcome an impasse over conflicting red lines after five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the decades-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, according to Reuters.
US officials have repeatedly said that any new nuclear deal with Iran – which would replace the failed 2015 agreement between Tehran and six world powers – must include a commitment to halt enrichment, which is seen as a potential path to developing nuclear bombs.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied such intentions, saying it wants nuclear energy only for civilian purposes, and has publicly rejected Washington's demand to halt enrichment, calling it an attack on its national sovereignty.
In Washington, a US official told Reuters that the proposal released by Iranian sources had not yet been put on the negotiating table. The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this article.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghei denied the Reuters report and said "enrichment in Iran is a non-negotiable principle."
Iranian sources said Tehran would not agree to dismantle its nuclear program or infrastructure or seal its nuclear facilities as demanded by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Instead, they said, Trump must publicly recognize Iran's sovereign right to enrich as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and authorize the release of Iranian oil revenues frozen by sanctions, including $6 billion in Qatar.
Iran has not yet been able to access the six billion dollars held in a Qatari bank that were unfrozen as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Iran in 2023, during the administration of US President Joseph Biden.
"Tehran wants its funds transferred to Iran without any conditions or restrictions. If that means lifting some sanctions, then that should be done," said another source.
Sources said a political agreement would give the current diplomacy a better chance of achieving results by providing more time to reach consensus on the difficult issues needed for a lasting agreement.
"The idea is not to reach an interim agreement, but rather a political agreement that would show that both sides are seeking to reduce tensions," another Iranian source said.
Western diplomats are skeptical about the chances of a US-Iranian reconciliation over enrichment. They warn that an interim political agreement would be met with resistance from European powers unless Iran shows a serious commitment to reducing its nuclear activities under verification by the UN nuclear watchdog.
Even if the enrichment gap narrows, a rapid lifting of sanctions would still be difficult. The US is pushing for a gradual lifting of nuclear-related sanctions, while Iran is demanding the immediate removal of all US-imposed restrictions that harm its oil-based economy.
Asked whether critical US sanctions, reimposed since 2018 when Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 pact, could be lifted during the enrichment pause, the first source said: "There have been discussions about how to lift sanctions during the five rounds of negotiations."
Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to the Iranian economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, "supporting terrorism or proliferation."
Iran's clerical establishment is grappling with mounting crises—energy and water shortages, a plummeting currency, losses among regional militias in wars with Israel, and growing fears of an Israeli strike on its nuclear sites—all exacerbated by Trump's hardline stance.
Trump's revival of the "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran since he re-entered the White House in January has included tougher sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current talks fail to produce a deal.
Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran's leadership "has no better option" than a new deal to prevent economic chaos at home that could threaten clerical rule.
Nationwide protests over social repression and economic hardship in recent years have been met with harsh repression, but have exposed the Islamic Republic's vulnerability to public discontent and prompted new Western sanctions over human rights abuses.
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