Washington has been evasive on ‘how and by what mechanism’ the sanctions would be removed, declares Tehran. Iran has insisted the United States make clear exactly how sanctions would be removed should the two parties agree on a new deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Esmail Baghaei made the remarks on Monday, just days after the US presented what it said was an “acceptable” offer. Unconfirmed reports suggest Iran regards the offer as a “non-starter” and is set to reject it.
The two sides have held seven weeks of talks on the nuclear program, with the US looking for guarantees that it is peaceful and Iran looking to lift punishing sanctions which have tormented its economy in recent years.
But Tehran is now insisting Washington clarify what it has to offer, mirroring scepticism expressed earlier this year by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In comments transmitted by the state IRNA news agency, Baghaei emphasized the requirement for assurances on the “actual end to sanctions”, such as specifics on “how and via what mechanism” they would be eliminated.
US negotiator Steve Witkoff has stated that Trump is against Tehran’s continuation of any enrichment, declaring it a “red line”.A leaked United Nations report indicates that Iran has accelerated production of 60 per cent enriched uranium, shy of the approximately 90 per cent necessary for atomic bombs but well above the 4 per cent or so used to produce power.
Baghaei called the report biased, saying that unspecified Western nations had pressured the UN to act against Iranian interests. Official sources, quoted by The New York Times, stated that the latest US offer contains a demand for Iran to halt all enrichment.
Although Tehran has acknowledged receipt of the offer, which the White House termed as being in Iran’s “best interest”, it has stated that it is studying the document. Receiving a text does not equate to accepting it, nor even that it is acceptable,” Baghaei explained.
The Reuters news wire cited an Iranian diplomat who was not named as saying Tehran is preparing to “draw up a negative reaction to the US offer, which would be seen as a rejection”. The official called the offer a “non-starter” because it fails to ease the US position on enrichment or provide a “clear explanation” of sanctions relief, the report said.
Iran has conducted five rounds of negotiations with the US since April 12 in a bid to find a new accord to substitute the agreement with the major powers that was discarded by Trump during his first term in 2018.
