Iran suggests an alternative uranium enrichment plan by setting up a joint nuclear consortium. The new plan is proposed in exchange for the lifting of sanctions by the United States, as an alternative to the U.S. demand to completely renounce Iran’s nuclear program, IPN reports.
“Tehran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process,” in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions by the U.S.,” Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview with NBC.
Ali Khamenei has given the green light to a new nuclear deal if White House leader Donald Trump accepts Tehran’s red lines, according to Foreign Policy.
Following the fourth round of talks between Iran and the United States, which took place in Oman last week, the sides did not agree on a major change, but seem determined to continue negotiations.
Even though he vowed earlier that he would never negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump again, Ali Khamenei, pressured by sanctions, economic crisis and the threat of war, opted for the path of diplomacy and negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to prevent Iran from developing its own nuclear weapons. At the same time, Tehran says it does not plan to do so.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, during talks in Oman with Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of the U.S. President, proposed the “new plan on the negotiating table”, according to a number of Iranian officials. Meanwhile, the U.S. side denied that such a proposal was made during the last round of negotiations.
Tehran’s proposal involves the establishment of a nuclear consortium with the participation of three countries. As part of the consortium, Iran will enrich uranium to a degree lower than that needed for nuclear weapons, which it will then export to other Arab countries for civilian use, according to The New York Times.
The terms of the agreement are similar to those in the agreement signed in 2015. The important difference is that representatives of foreign countries, possibly, even from the U.S., would be much more involved with duties to monitor the entire process in detail.
Another difference would be that while the old agreement had a period of 15 years, the new agreement would be permanent. So, it turns out that Donald Trump achieved more than former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015.
To dispel any doubts about the unity of Iran’s leadership, Ali Khamenei’s office said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the forces that manage the country’s most important military and nuclear complexes, were backing the talks led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but noted that they remained “alert” and with a “finger on the trigger” in case diplomacy failed.
