Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the United States must require Iran to relinquish all of its enriched uranium and be barred from enriching more, as part of any nuclear deal with Tehran.
In a speech in Jerusalem on Sunday, he outlined several conditions he wanted, including that “all enriched material has to leave Iran” and that “there should be no enrichment capability.”
His comments come as Iranian and US officials prepare for a second round of talks in Switzerland on Tuesday.
Iran will consider compromises to reach a nuclear deal if the US is willing to discuss lifting sanctions, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in Tehran.
However, Iran regards zero enrichment as a red line and a violation of its rights under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
The US has piled pressure on Iran to reach a deal and has built up its military capabilities in the Middle East, sending two aircraft carriers, including its largest-ever warship, to the region.
Additional American naval forces will protect against any potential threats in the region, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Slovakia.
He said the US President Donald Trump “prefers diplomacy and an outcome of negotiated settlement” over direct attacks on Iran.
Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to meet Iranian negotiators, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is travelling to Geneva.
Read Also:
- Netanyahu to meet Trump as Iran nuclear talks reach critical stage
- Netanyahu agrees to join Trump’s Board of Peace
- Army chief warns Trump, Netanyahu against interfering in Iran’s affairs
“No one’s ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we’re going to try,” Rubio said.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew, Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear activities and allow international inspections in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
Ahead of the latest round of talks, Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC Tehran has offered to dilute its 60%-enriched uranium as evidence of its willingness to compromise.
Highly enriched uranium, at a near weapons-grade level, has deepened suspicions that the Islamic Republic is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something it has always denied.
“We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our programme if they are ready to talk about sanctions,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC.
He would not confirm whether this meant lifting all or some sanctions.
Also, he did not say whether Iran would consider agreeing to ship more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium out of the country.
Washington has been pushing for a deal with Tehran, but Netanyahu said he raised “scepticism” with Trump during a recent meeting at the White House.
“I said that if a deal is to be reached, it should have several components… that we believe are important not only for the security of Israel, but for the security of the world,” Netanyahu said.
One of Israel’s key demands includes curbing Iran’s development of ballistic missiles, which have been used to strike Israel.
Tehran has so far refused to discuss its ballistic missile programme with US officials.
Israel has also previously called for Iran to cut support for proxy groups in the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
