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Iran to seek ‘interim nuclear deal’ in talks with US
Tehran could reportedly agree to dilute its stock of enriched uranium in order to stave off President Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
April 11, 2025 11:35
Tehran could reportedly agree to dilute its stock of enriched uranium in order to stave off President Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign
April 11, 2025 11:35Iran is reportedly set to seek an “interim” agreement over its nuclear programme in heavily-previewed talks with the US this weekend.
The two sides are set to meet in Oman on Saturday to begin negotiations, as confirmed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A delegation led by President Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will meet with a senior Iranian official and their team, Rubio told reporters.
Washington is understood to be set on achieving an absolute guarantee that the Islamic Republic will not develop nuclear weapons.
However, Axios is reporting that Tehran is keen to leave the summit with an outline of an “interim” deal, with negotiations of a comprehensive agreement to follow at a later date.
Quoting a “source familiar with the issues”, as well as an unnamed European diplomat, the report suggests that the placeholder deal could focus on Iran’s stock of enriched uranium, which it has been slowly developing for years.
The previous agreement, 2015’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) – better known as the Iran Nuclear Deal – negotiated by the Obama administration, supposedly imposed limits on uranium enrichment but these were breached several years ago.
Last week, President Trump demanded that an updated deal be agreed within two months and claimed that the US would take military action against Iran if this deadline was not met.
The new proposal could reportedly see the partial suspension of enrichment, the dilution of the current stockpile and improved access to nuclear sites for UN inspectors. Although, the regime has also threatened to expel inspectors today and move enriched uranium stocks to “secure locations” not accessible to UN teams in response to Trump’s comments.
The deal could also apparently see an extension of the “snapback” mechanism from the JCPA, which automatically triggers sanctions from UN Security Council members if Iran breaches its terms.
Axios reports that the UK, France and Germany have informed Tehran that they will trigger the snapback if no deal can be reached by the end of June.
The report suggests that Iranian negotiators believe that two months is too little time to agree a full deal given the technical details involved but hope that the interim agreement can stave off further sanctions.
In return, the deal would reportedly include the suspension of President Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” approach to the negotiations, including the threat of military confrontation.
There is no official comment from the regime as yet regarding the prospect of a temporary deal, with its foreign ministry still insisting that this weekend’s talks will be conducted through Omani mediators, contrary to Washington’s claims of direct negotiations.