WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has pitched Iran on a revised nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium after it is signed — contradicting public statements by top US officials.
The proposal outline, first reported Monday by Axios, was submitted Saturday by White House special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
If agreed, the outline would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium domestically, but only for civilian use. Tehran will also have to temporarily reduce its enrichment concentration to 3% — well below weapons-grade levels of 90%.
The period of low-level enrichment would have to be agreed on by both Washington and Tehran.
The proposal also requires Iran to render its underground enrichment facilities “non-operational” for a mutually agreed period of time while limiting aboveground activity to producing nuclear reactor fuel under international guidelines.
The revised deal notes that Tehran will be eligible for sanctions relief once it “demonstrates real commitment” to the terms of the agreement — which calls for a “strong system for monitoring and verification.”
President Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, and has promised to put maximum pressure — to potentially include military strikes — to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both insisted on the record that Iran’s nuclear program must be dismantled totally.
“If you have the ability to enrich at 3.67% it only takes a few weeks to get to 20% then 60% and then the 80 and 90% that you need for a weapon,” Rubio told Fox News May 2.
“Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East — meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” Witkoff said April 15.
Iran, meanwhile, has insisted it will not give up its efforts. Earlier Monday, a senior Tehran diplomat told Reuters: “Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer.”
“President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb. Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it’s in their best interest to accept it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement responding to the Axios report.
“Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.”
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