Iran says nuclear demands could derail talks with US

N12 reported that the current deal under discussion does not address Iran’s nuclear program, at least initially.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iran will not agree to a deal with the United States if Washington insists on limits to Tehran’s nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Friday.

Baghaei told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that current negotiations were aimed at ending the war rather than resolving the nuclear dispute in detail.

“The negotiations are focused on ending the war, and the issues related to the nuclear issue are not going to be discussed in detail at this stage,” Baghaei stated. “Therefore, if we try to go into the details of this issue at this stage, we will not reach a conclusion.”

Baghaei described US demands concerning Iran’s nuclear activities as “unreasonable” and “excessive” and said American pressure had caused previous negotiations to collapse.

On Saturday, Trump told Axios there was a “50/50” chance the conflict would end in a ceasefire or lead to renewed military action.

He said there could either be a “good” agreement or else “blow them to kingdom come.”

Trump also said any proposed arrangement should eventually address uranium enrichment and Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, although Axios reported those issues were unlikely to be resolved immediately under the memorandum currently being discussed.

According to N12, the proposed terms would involve Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for financial benefits, while discussions on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium stockpile would take place later. The report said Iran’s ballistic missile program was not included in the talks.

N12 also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his security Cabinet on Saturday over what he viewed as a proposal unfavorable to Israel.

An Israeli official cited in the report said Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff strongly supported the agreement and “wants a deal at almost any price, and is placing immense pressure on Trump not to resume the war.”