Nuclear Deadlock: Iran Holds Firm on Uranium Enrichment As US Pushes For External Control

Iran has asserted that it will not halt uranium enrichment activities despite US pressure to do so in the nuclear talks between the two countries.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said uranium enrichment is the key to Iran’s nuclear issue, dismissing the US demand for Tehran to ultimately stop all enrichment in the country.

Iran and the US have so far held five rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, on a replacement for the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

However, the talks have faced an obstacle over the US demand that Iran should stop enriching uranium under any new deal and instead join a consortium with other nations that would handle enrichment on its behalf.

Citing Ali Bigdeli, a senior Iranian academic and political analyst, Iranian state news agency Press TV reported that Iran has heavily invested in building a self-reliant nuclear industry and sees uranium enrichment as a matter of sovereignty and scientific progress.

Iran, according to Bigdeli, is not willing to accept the US proposal of forming a foreign-controlled consortium to oversee enrichment.

Instead, Tehran has proposed a regional consortium under its leadership, in which it would enrich uranium and supply nuclear material to neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

However, the report noted that this idea has not gained traction.

Iranian officials believe that any external control over its enrichment process would be viewed domestically as a compromise on national sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to release a report on Iran’s nuclear activities during an upcoming meeting of its Board of Governors.

The Iranian side does not expect the report to be favourable, but also does not anticipate an immediate escalation or referral to the UN Security Council.

European parties to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—France, Germany, and the UK—are also reported to be pushing for broader access for IAEA inspectors to Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks is expected to begin in the coming days in Muscat, with Iran preparing to submit a counter-proposal to the last American offer.

As reported by Reuters on 11 June, Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned that if nuclear negotiations fail and a conflict breaks out, Iran would target US bases across the region.

He added that Iran's missile programme would not be subject to any restrictions.

Iranian officials have also pointed out that the US has not offered firm guarantees that it will lift sanctions or refrain from exiting any future agreement, as it did in 2018 during Donald Trump’s presidency.