President Trump this week denied reports that U.S. negotiators offered a deal to Tehran that would let Iran continue its uranium enrichment program.
Mr. Trump drew a hard line against Iran’s uranium enrichment program, rejecting reports on Monday that found his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, suggested an agreement would allow for limited enrichment.
“Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump’s comments contradict provisions of the proposal reportedly delivered by Mr. Witkoff over the weekend. The offer, detailed in an Axios report that cited two people familiar with the deal, includes preliminary proposals that negotiators will flesh out in future talks.
The potential deal would force Iran to rapidly scale back its enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief. Tehran would be barred from building new enrichment facilities, developing new centrifuges and enriching uranium above 3%.
Iran’s underground enrichment facilities would also need to be nonoperational for an undetermined period, and all above-ground facilities would be subject to intense monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The proposal also reportedly calls for creating a regional consortium to handle civilian-grade uranium enrichment.
Allowing Iran to maintain its enrichment program could seriously alienate the White House’s allies. Hard-line Iran hawks have long insisted that any nuclear deal with Iran must include a complete dismantling of its enrichment infrastructure to ensure Tehran doesn’t secure nuclear weapons.
Conservatives, including Mr. Trump, opposed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because it let Iran continue its enrichment program if it was kept below 3.67%.
“Should we believe today’s reporting, Washington, under Republican leadership, is negotiating its way right into a deal with Iran that looks eerily similar to President Obama’s failed JCPOA,” Garrett Exner, a former Marine who was a counterterrorism policy adviser at the Pentagon, said in a statement. “If the U.S. government allows Iran to enrich uranium for any purpose under this agreement, they should not be surprised when the U.S. Veteran community declines to support the deal.”
The proposal also stands to irritate Israel, which has maintained a hard-line position on Iranian enrichment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for preemptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities if talks with the U.S. disintegrate. Trump has publicly cautioned Mr. Netanyahu from carrying out strikes without a U.S. go-ahead.
Nuclear enrichment has been a sticking point for both sides during negotiations. Iran has said it won’t accept any proposal that includes the total elimination of its enrichment program and insists that its network of centrifuges is used only for civilian purposes.
Iran hasn’t commented on the contents of the proposal delivered Saturday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei implied that Tehran was unsatisfied with the deal, citing a lack of details as to when sanctions would be lifted.
Officials haven’t scheduled the next round of nuclear talks, but negotiators are expected to meet for the sixth time later this month to discuss the proposal.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.