Iran is refusing to export its 300kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but Iranian sources said it was willing to dilute the purity of its stockpile under the supervision of the UN nuclear inspectorate, the IAEA.
The proposal will be central to Iran’s offer to the US in the coming days as US President Donald Trump ponders whether to use its vast naval presence in the Middle East to attack the country.
Iran currently has a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, close to weapons grade, but is poised to reduce the purity to 20% or less.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghi also stated that the US did not demand that Iran give up its right to enrich itself. The focus is instead on the purity of the enrichment and the number of centrifuges allowed.
There has been talk of sending the stockpile to Russia and linking Iran’s domestic enrichment program with a foreign consortium, but Iranian sources insist the concept of a consortium has not been raised.
Iranian media close to the government quoted an Iranian diplomat as saying: “We emphasized this position during the negotiations that nuclear materials will not leave the country.”
Iran’s account of its relatively uncompromising position means that much weight should be placed on the level of access the IAEA is given to inspect nuclear sites.
Iran’s offer is likely to determine whether Trump is pressured to initiate military action against Iran.
In an interview broadcast on Friday in the US, Araghchi said: “Washington has not asked Tehran to permanently stop uranium enrichment,” adding that Tehran has not offered Washington a temporary halt to its uranium enrichment.
He dismissed reports that Iran had proposed a halt to uranium enrichment for two to three years: “It is not true that the United States has called for a complete halt to enrichment.”
His comments were contradicted by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, who, prompted by his interviewer, said the US was seeking “zero enrichment” by Iran.
Reza Nasri, an Iranian lawyer with contacts in the Foreign Ministry, warned: “If Iran is attacked when the nuclear deals can be resolved diplomatically in a fair and equitable manner, other regional states will inevitably draw a conclusion: nuclear weapons are the only real deterrent against the US and Israel.”
The news comes as protests erupted at some universities, sparking fresh clashes in the street, Mashhad University of Medical Services and at least two Tehran universities.
Universities closed due to fear of protests have reopened. At Sharif University, students chanted slogans such as “Javed Shah”, “Until the Mullah is covered, this motherland is not a motherland” and “Death to the dictator”. Sharif asked the university president to stop the students
officials are warning that classes will be forced online again.
Protests are also expected at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Tuesday when Iranian official Afsane Nadipour takes her seat as a full member of the advisory council for the first time. Nadipur, a former Iranian ambassador to Denmark, is expected to provide input on women’s rights.
The UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee consists of 18 independent experts from five UN regional groups and serves as the intellectual arm of the Human Rights Council. Nominations are made by governments and selected by the Council.
She was elected to a three-year term in October.
