Iran says nuclear, sanctions relief sole focus in talks
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States are strictly limited to Tehran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also told reporters that consultations over the timing and venue of the next round of talks are still underway and will be officially announced by Oman once finalized.
“As has been repeatedly said, the only subjects of discussion between Iran and the United States are the nuclear issue and sanctions relief. No other topics have been, or will be, addressed in these negotiations,” Baghaei said.
“The continuation of enrichment in Iran is a fundamental principle of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear policy,” he said. “Any proposal or initiative that would undermine this right will not be accepted.”
Iran may reconsider its longstanding ban on US nuclear inspectors if ongoing negotiations with Washington result in a successful agreement, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Wednesday.
Nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told reporters in Tehran that inspectors from the United States — currently excluded due to what Tehran views as hostile policies — could be allowed access to Iranian nuclear sites under the auspices of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), if a deal is finalized.
“It is normal that inspectors from hostile countries are not allowed, but if a nuclear deal is reached, we might allow American inspectors working for the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit our nuclear sites,” Eslami said.
The remarks come as Iran and the United States are expected to enter a sixth round of talks aimed at reviving diplomacy over Tehran’s nuclear program. US President Donald Trump, who withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement during his first term, said earlier this month that he expects “good news” from the negotiations.
Enrichment still a red line
Eslami said that uranium enrichment remains a red line for Tehran, speaking of its significance to the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
“Enrichment is the foundation and pillar of the country's nuclear industry,” he said, comparing Western proposals to allowing a country access to a power grid while denying it the ability to generate electricity.
Daily electricity consumption in Iran can vary, with peaks reaching over 72,000 megawatt (MW), exceeding the actual power generation capacity of 60,000 MW during the summer. The capacity of Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s biggest, is currently 1,000MW.
Western powers, led by Washington, have demanded Iran halt uranium enrichment over fears it could lead to nuclear weapons development. Tehran says its program is purely civilian and that it has no plans to build a nuclear bomb.
Iran’s nuclear chief also expressed hopes for what he called greater professionalism from the IAEA and urged the agency to resist outside political pressures, particularly from what he described as “Zionist influence.”
IAEA deputy director allowed to visit sites
He said IAEA Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo is currently in Tehran to inspect two remaining sites as part of an earlier agreement signed in March 2023.
“We hope the agency will act professionally and reduce the influence of the Zionist current,” Eslami said, adding that Iran is fully transparent and operates under full IAEA oversight.
No official proposal on consortium
Addressing reports of a potential nuclear fuel enrichment consortium involving Persian Gulf states, Eslami said Iran has not yet received an official proposal on the matter.
“Our position is legal and based on our rights. Enrichment is the essence of our nuclear industry. We are committed not to pursue nuclear weapons,” he said.
Eslami also dismissed recent allegations from opposition groups and Israeli intelligence about secret nuclear activities, calling them recycled accusations aimed at undermining Iran’s nuclear program.
“Such claims have always been made, but they are baseless. Whenever inspections occur, the truth emerges,” he said.
Oversight of Iran's nuclear facilities has been increasingly challenging for the IAEA. In 2022, Iran removed IAEA cameras and in September 2023, Iran banned a third of the IAEA's inspectors.
Israel launched airstrikes on key infrastructure of the Houthi militia in Yemen including what it said was the group’s “last remaining plane” and Sana’a Airport, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran.
"I have said more than once: The Houthis are only the symptom. The main driving force behind them is Iran, which is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen," he said on Wednesday.
The Council of Foreign Relations says that Iran is the group’s “primary benefactor” and the Trump administration in the US has also put the blame firmly in Tehran.
Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran had continued to support Yemen's armed Houthi movement despite an explicit warning from Washington.
Pete Hegseth wrote on X: "Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the US Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing."
Iran denies it controls the group, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US and other countries, which has become a key threat to Israel since the Gaza war.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday: “A short while ago, the IDF struck at the main airport in Sana'a and aircraft belonging to the Houthi terrorist organization. The aircraft struck were used by the Houthi terrorist organization for the transfer of terrorists who advanced terrorist attacks against the state of Israel.”
The Houthis, which now control two thirds of Yemen, have been launching attacks on Israel, including a maritime blockade in the Red Sea region, since November 2023, in the wake of the Gaza war. It says the operation is in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory attacks after the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7 have seen tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and swathes of Gaza destroyed as around two thirds of the strip are now displaced.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Wednesday strikes “destroyed the last remaining plane used by the Houthis as part of Operation Golden Jewel."
“The ports in Yemen will continue to be severely damaged, and the airport in Sana'a will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructure in the region used by the Houthi terrorist organization and its supporters,” a statement said.
Earlier this month, Israeli air defense systems failed to intercept a ballistic missile which made impact near the country’s main airport, Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion Airport.
Washington is more open to agreeing an interim set of principles for a final nuclear deal with Tehran to break a diplomatic impasse in talks and forestall a potential Israeli attack on Iran, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper, which reported last month that US President Donald counseled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, cited sources familiar with the talks and Israeli thinking.
The United States has become more open to an interim declaration of common principles on a final deal to preempt such an attack, according the paper.
Israel on Wednesday rejected the report Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to disrupt talks by striking Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities.
Washington is more open to agreeing an interim set of principles for a final nuclear deal with Tehran to break a diplomatic impasse in talks and forestall a potential Israeli attack on Iran, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper, which reported last month that US President Donald counseled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, cited sources familiar with the talks and Israeli thinking.
The United States has become more open to an interim declaration of common principles on a final deal to preempt such an attack, according to the paper.
Mediator Oman and the United States are also discussing creative ways to keep the talks from running aground over the main sticking point of Iranian enrichment.
These include a regional venture to produce fuel for nuclear powers that would involve Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states, with participation from the United States—though the details of such a plan remain unclear.
A fifth round of negotiations between the US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped up on Friday in Rome with little public sign of progress.
Washington has repeatedly insisted Iran commit to ending domestic enrichment of uranium in a move Tehran has called a non-starter.
Witkoff, the New York Times cited participants in the talks, has dropped an initial rejection of any interim set of understandings on an ultimate deal, in a formula which might fall afoul of Israel and Iran hawks within the US congress.
Israeli officials, according to the sources cited by New York Times, have informed US counterparts that Israel could launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites even after a deal should it deem the agreement unsatisfactory.
Netanyahu has publicly insisted that Iran suspend all its nuclear activity, in demands which far outpace US insistence on ending enrichment.
The Israeli premier's office issued a statement on Wednesday in response to the article which said simply: "Fake news".
Iran sees domestic uranium enrichment as a national achievement enshrined by international covenants and has accused Washington of being beholden to maximalist Israeli goals.
Some military experts have doubted whether Israel alone can knock out Iranian nuclear capabilities by itself and see its chances of success as much improved with American participation.
The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Wednesday that Tehran is prepared to respond forcefully to any potential military action by Israel.
"Our hands are on the trigger. We are waiting — if they make a mistake, they will receive responses that will make them forget their past," IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.
Addressing the United States, Salami also added: "We are prepared for every scenario."
