US Said to Present Difficult Conditions in Nuclear Negotiations with Iran in Geneva
Washington - In the latest round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations in Geneva, the United States has presented an agreement requiring Tehran to dismantle three major nuclear facilities and transfer its entire enriched uranium reserves to the US, according to The Wall Street Journal on Thursday (26 February).
The White House is insisting that Iran cease operations at its key sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan and accept an open-ended agreement aimed at permanently blocking Iran’s access to developing nuclear weapons, the report said, citing statements from several US officials.
The Trump administration wants any agreement to have no time limit and would gradually eliminate restrictions from the 2015 nuclear agreement, arguing that the initial treaty was too weak, the report added. The White House now faces pressure from hardline groups in Washington not to accept terms that could be described as a softer version of the previous agreement.
The US is only offering limited sanctions relief at the beginning of any agreement, with the possibility of further reductions if Iran complies with provisions over time, the report stated.
Iran has asserted its right to uranium enrichment but is attempting to ease tensions with the US through several proposals, including reducing enrichment levels to 1.5 per cent from the previous 60 per cent, temporarily halting enrichment processes for several years, or processing uranium through an Arab-Iran consortium based in Iran, according to the report.
The US is demanding complete cessation of uranium enrichment, but its negotiating team may be willing to allow Iran to restart a nuclear reactor in Tehran that can process very low-grade enriched uranium for medical purposes, the report stated, citing US officials.
For now, Iran is not conducting uranium enrichment, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday (25 February), whilst stating that two of Iran’s main uranium enrichment sites suffered severe damage from Israeli and US strikes last June.
Although the Geneva negotiations have largely focused on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, Washington is also seeking to address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for regional proxy groups.
In his state of the union address on Tuesday (24 February) evening, Trump said Iran is developing long-range ballistic missiles that could reach the US in the near term.
“I will not speculate on the extent of their capabilities, but they are clearly attempting to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday. “And in my view, Iran’s reluctance to discuss ballistic missiles is a major issue, very major. And I will not elaborate further.”
US envoy Steve Witkoff conveyed in a closed meeting on Tuesday that if a US-Iran nuclear agreement is reached, the White House wants to hold follow-up negotiations on Iran’s missile programme and its support for proxy militias, according to Axios.
Under the 2015 nuclear agreement reached during Barack Obama’s presidency, most restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme were scheduled to phase out between eight and 25 years after the agreement was signed. Iran also committed to not developing nuclear weapons.
The US administration has deployed substantial military forces to the Middle East. On Monday (23 February), Trump warned that he preferred to reach a deal with Iran, but if an agreement is not achieved, “it will be a very bad day” for the country, alluding to the possibility of US military strikes.
Tehran has warned that any attack will trigger a large-scale retaliation.