Continuation of the maximum pressure policy with strength
Continuation of the maximum pressure policy with strength
Tommy Bruce, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, told reporters on Tuesday, June 2, that despite U.S. efforts to reach a new nuclear agreement with Iran, the U.S. maximum pressure campaign against Iran will continue with full strength. This comes while three days after the U.S. nuclear proposal was delivered to Iran via Oman, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic mentioned that there are many ambiguities and questions in it.
Abbas Araqchi, speaking after meeting with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut, also said that Iran will respond to the U.S. proposal based on its principled positions and the interests of its people in the coming days. Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump once again emphasized the need for a complete halt to uranium enrichment in Iran, Mr. Araqchi reiterated Tehran’s red line: ‘We do not seek permission from anyone to continue uranium enrichment in Iran.’
Abbas Araqchi, speaking at the signing ceremony of his book ‘The Power of Negotiation’, also cited the reason for Tehran’s reluctance to negotiate directly with the U.S. as the economic pressure and military threats from that country, which, according to him, have eliminated the possibility of negotiation from an equal position. When Mr. Trump started his work at the White House, he signed a presidential memorandum as the first step and announced the maximum pressure policy regarding Iran.
By increasing forces at the Diego Garcia base, increasing military ships in the region, and adding new fighter jets and bombers, the military threat has been added to the economic pressure. In these circumstances, a letter was written to the leadership of Iran requesting negotiations.
The Iranian Foreign Minister added that it is completely clear that negotiations under such conditions cannot be real negotiations from an equal position and, in fact, resemble more of a surrender negotiation. In the few days since the U.S. nuclear proposal was delivered to Iran, there has been much speculation in the media about the content of this proposal and Iran’s possible response to it. Axios published a report last night, quoting informed sources, providing details of Washington’s nuclear proposal to Tehran, which, contrary to repeated statements by American officials, allows Iran limited enrichment for a period.
However, hours after this report was published, U.S. President Donald Trump once again explicitly declared that Iran will not be allowed any level of enrichment. Mr. Trump criticized Joe Biden in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, for not stopping uranium enrichment in Iran during his presidency, and wrote that under our potential agreement, we will not allow any level of enrichment. Previously, Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy for Middle Eastern affairs, and Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, both emphasized that Washington wants the complete dismantling of enrichment in Iran. However, Axios reported, quoting two informed sources, details of the U.S. nuclear proposal indicating Washington’s flexibility on an issue it has described as a red line until now.
According to the Axios report, in the U.S. nuclear proposal delivered to Iran via Oman on Saturday, initial ideas for consideration in the next round of negotiations were presented. Under this framework, Iran will not have the right to build new enrichment facilities, will be required to dismantle important conversion and processing facilities, and must stop research and development in the field of centrifuges. U.S. President Donald Trump once again explicitly declared that Iran will not be allowed any level of enrichment.
Axios also reported that under the U.S. proposal, enrichment in Iran must temporarily be reduced to 3 percent, underground facilities must be deactivated for a period based on mutual agreement, and enrichment at surface-level facilities should be limited to what is necessary for reactor fuel production according to International Atomic Energy Agency standards.
According to this report, the U.S. proposal also mentions the creation of a robust system for monitoring and verification, which includes the ratification of the Additional Protocol to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Axios states that U.S. officials have not denied any of the details reported.
U.S. and Iranian officials have not yet officially commented on the content of Washington’s proposal to Tehran, but Reuters reported on Monday, quoting an unnamed Iranian diplomat, that Tehran is preparing a negative response to the U.S. proposal, which could be perceived as a rejection of the proposal.
Caroline Levitt, the White House spokesperson, previously stated without referring to the details of the U.S. nuclear proposal to Iran, that this proposal is detailed and acceptable, and it is in their interest to accept it. Iran is reviewing the U.S. proposal while both sides have so far gone through five rounds of nuclear negotiations, and both Washington and Tehran have spoken of progress in the negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters last week that our negotiations with Iran have made real progress, serious progress. I really want this agreement to happen, and I think there is a high chance of achieving it. Despite references by Iran and the U.S. to progress in the negotiations, the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran, which Washington wants to completely halt and Tehran considers non-negotiable, remains one of the main sticking points in the negotiations.
According to Axios, based on the U.S. nuclear proposal, Iran will not have the right to build new enrichment facilities, will be required to dismantle important conversion and processing facilities, and must stop research and development in the field of centrifuges.
