Iran is preparing to dismiss the latest US offer aimed at resolving the long-standing nuclear dispute, describing it as a “non-starter” that ignores Tehran’s key demands and keeps the US firm on uranium enrichment restrictions.
A senior Iranian diplomat close to the negotiation team told Reuters that Iran is drafting a negative response, which is expected to amount to a formal rejection of the proposal presented last Saturday by Oman’s Foreign Minister, who has been mediating between Tehran and Washington.
The US proposal, following multiple rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and the US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, fails to address critical issues, particularly Iran’s insistence on maintaining its uranium enrichment program for peaceful purposes. Tehran rejects US demands to abandon enrichment, which Washington views as a potential path to nuclear weapons development.
The diplomat emphasized that the US stance on enrichment remains unchanged in the proposal, and there is no clear roadmap for lifting crippling sanctions imposed since 2018 on Iran’s economy, including on its central bank and national oil company.
Iran demands the immediate removal of all sanctions, while the US insists on a phased approach tied to verifiable nuclear compliance.
Since President Trump’s return to office in January, the US has intensified a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, tightening sanctions and issuing threats of military action if negotiations fail. This follows Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, which led Iran to scale back its commitments under that pact.
The Iranian nuclear negotiating committee, supervised by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, views the US proposal as heavily skewed and unsuitable for Iran’s interests, labeling it a “bad deal” with excessive demands.
However, there remains a potential opening: Iranian officials recently indicated willingness to pause uranium enrichment if the US releases frozen Iranian assets and formally recognizes Tehran’s right to refine uranium for civilian use as part of a broader political agreement.