Iran pressed the United States on Monday for assurances that it will lift sanctions as a prerequisite for a nuclear agreement, following the White House sending a proposal it had found “acceptable.”
With the United States and Iran in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program since April, Washington’s offer for a deal followed a leaked UN report that Iran intensified production of highly enriched uranium.
Iran’s foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi was to sit down with the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Cairo on Monday, a day after the leak of the report.
Iran has discredited the report, threatening to retaliate if European powers that have threatened to re-impose nuclear sanctions “exploit” the report.
The US and Western nations accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has denied repeatedly, citing the need for uranium to fuel civilian power.
On Saturday, Araghchi indicated that he had received “elements” of a US proposal for a nuclear agreement after five rounds of Oman-mediated talks.
On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a news conference in Tehran: “We want to ensure that the sanctions are properly removed.”
“So far, the American side has not wished to clarify this matter,” he added.
“If they wish to further take advantage of this political report. they will certainly have to endure a proportionate response from Iran,” he added.
The New York Times, quoting diplomats close to the diplomatic communications, reported that the offer asks Iran to suspend all enrichment and proposes setting up a regional coalition to generate nuclear energy.
Iran has conducted five rounds of negotiations with the US in pursuit of a new deal to replace the accord with world powers that Trump dumped in his first term in 2018.
