US Offer to Iran: "Importing Enriched Uranium

Enriched Uranium

US Offer to Iran: "Importing Enriched Uranium from Abroad"

Ahead of the third round of US-Iranian talks scheduled for next Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made what appeared to be an offer to Iran.

He expressed the Trump administration's willingness to allow Tehran to pursue a civilian nuclear program based exclusively on imported nuclear fuel, thus presenting a potential compromise with Tehran aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. "If Iran wants a civilian nuclear program, it can have one like many other countries around the world," Rubio said in an interview with The Free Press podcast.

"Importing Enriched Material"

But he added that it must "import enriched material." He explained that Tehran could continue operating nuclear reactors, but "its path to a nuclear bomb would be blocked because it would not be allowed to enrich its own uranium." He added that Iran must abandon all uranium enrichment if it wants to reach an agreement during the ongoing talks with the Trump administration and avoid the risk of an armed conflict.

"Far from an agreement"

He also emphasized that Washington remains "very far from any kind of agreement with Iran." However, he emphasized that his country "wants to reach a peaceful solution without resorting to other options." However, Iran has long refused to give up its uranium enrichment capacity. It has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes.

It has also emphasized that it does not seek to produce weapons-grade uranium. It is noteworthy that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz announced last month that Tehran must agree to the "complete dismantling" of its nuclear program. However, Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy to the Middle East, later spoke about the possibility of allowing Tehran to enrich up to 3.67 percent, the level stipulated in the 2015 nuclear agreement.

During his first term in 2018, Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement and reimposed harsh sanctions on Tehran, which remained committed to the agreement for a year afterward before beginning to reverse its commitments. At the time, he described the nuclear agreement, concluded under his predecessor Barack Obama, as "the worst deal ever negotiated" with Iran.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in its latest report, issued last February, that Tehran possesses 274.8 kg of uranium enriched to 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% limit set by the 2015 agreement, bringing it closer to the 90% threshold required for use in nuclear weapons.