US claims Iran pushed five times nuclear enrichment

Washington, March 1 (IANS) Iran proposed a nuclear framework during the latest round of negotiations that would have allowed enrichment capacity “roughly five times more than laid out in the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)”, reinforcing Washington’s concerns about Tehran’s long-term intentions, senior Trump Administration officials said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials described a detailed written proposal presented by Iranian negotiators during talks with the United States. During the negotiations, the US side was led by senior presidential advisor Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

“They brought with them a seven-page plan, which, interestingly enough, they wouldn’t leave it with us, but they did hand it to us and allowed us to read it,” said a Senior Administration Official who requested anonymity.

According to US officials, the document outlined Iran’s internal nuclear energy needs and included a flow chart projecting future enrichment requirements.

The scale of the projected capability, they said, would have significantly exceeded limits under the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), officials said, assessed that the projected framework would result in enrichment capacity “roughly five times more than laid out in the J-C-P-O-A”.

The core dispute centred on uranium enrichment.

US negotiators told Iran that if its programme were genuinely civilian, it could operate under internationally accepted guardrails similar to those of other countries.

“We said, okay, there are many countries that have safe, civil nuclear programs,” the Senior Administration Official said.

Washington offered a major concession.

“One of the things we offered them was we said, we’ll give you a free nuclear fuel forever,” the official said.

Iran rejected that offer.

“They basically said that didn’t work for them. They needed to enrich uranium,” a Senior Administration Official said.

US officials interpreted that insistence as revealing.

“The fact that they weren’t willing to take free nuclear fuel was a big tell to us,” the official said.

Officials argued that retaining domestic enrichment capability — particularly alongside advanced centrifuge development and higher stockpiles — left open a pathway to weapons-grade material.

They said Iran was simultaneously expanding its ability to manufacture advanced “IR six centrifuges”, described as “the fastest ones out there”.

Officials also cited stockpiles of enriched material at elevated levels.

Roughly “450 kilograms of 60 per cent material” would be “only one week away from getting to 90 per cent weapons rate”, the Senior Administration Official said.

In addition, officials said Iran refused to address ballistic missiles and regional proxy groups in the negotiations.

“They will not even talk about it,” one Senior Administration Official said of ballistic missiles.

Following these meetings, the administration concluded that the proposal did not meet President Donald Trump’s demand for “a real deal” that would ensure Iran would “never have the ability to possess a nuclear weapon”.

“There was no seriousness to achieve a real deal,” a Senior Administration Official said, describing the talks as marked by “games tricks stall tactics”.

Officials said Washington could have agreed to “another short-term bad deal” but chose not to.

“It wouldn’t have dealt with the long-term issue of Iran,” the official said.

The 2015 nuclear agreement capped enrichment at 3.67 per cent and imposed limits on centrifuge numbers in exchange for sanctions relief. That framework later unravelled, and tensions have since escalated over enrichment thresholds and missile capabilities.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy use. However, enrichment levels beyond civilian requirements and advanced centrifuge production remain at the centre of international concern.

The disclosure of the written proposal suggests negotiations had moved into detailed technical exchanges before collapsing.

–IANS

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