 "Trump says US nearing nuclear deal with Iran, but some gaps remain")
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States is getting close to reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, marking a significant step towards reviving diplomacy between the two nations.
“We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this... there [are] two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second way,” Trump said during his tour of the Middle East.
He said Iran has “sort of” agreed to the terms of the deal. The statement came a day after Trump described Tehran as “the most destructive force” in West Asia at a US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh, reiterating that Washington would never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
‘Gaps to address’ in nuclear deal
Despite Trump’s statement, an Iranian source familiar with the negotiations said, there are still gaps that need to be addressed with the United States, reported Reuters.
The development follows several rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, most recently in Oman, with Omani mediation. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have led their respective delegations in these talks.
Is a compromise possible on Iran’s uranium enrichment?
- The US wants Iran to halt uranium enrichment.
- Iran, however, has slammed the US demand, terming it as a “red line”. Iran maintains that they will not give up what they view as their right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil.
- According to the Reuters report, Iran has signaled willingness to reduce its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which exceeds levels needed for civilian use like nuclear power generation.
- Tehran also insists it will not lower its uranium stockpile below the limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US withdrew from under US President Trump’s first term.
- Tehran also wants to reduce the uranium stockpile “in several stages, which America doesn’t agree with either,” the source said.
- Despite Iran’s willingness to offer concessions, the source said, “The issue is that America is not willing to lift major sanctions in exchange.”
- Contention also exists over the destination to which the highly enriched uranium would be sent, the source said.