The Trump administration is prepared to consider a proposal that allows Iran “token” nuclear enrichment if it leaves no possible path to a bomb, a senior US official told Axios on Saturday.
This suggests there could be an opening, if only a small one, between the red lines set by the US and Iran for a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear capabilities and prevent war, according to Axios.
The report published this week said that after the Geneva talks, US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner asked Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to produce a detailed proposal addressing all the US concerns regarding Iran's nuclear program.
A senior US official said Witkoff and Kushner told Araghchi that Trump's position was “zero enrichment” on Iranian soil.
But the official said that if the proposal includes “small, token enrichment,” and if the Iranians offer detailed proof that it poses no threat, the US will study it.
Another senior Trump adviser said: “Trump is keeping his options open. He could decide on an attack at any moment.”
Pezeshkian: We Will Not Bow Our Heads
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads... but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
But a senior US official told Axios that “Trump will be ready to accept a deal that would be substantive and that he can sell politically at home. If the Iranians want to prevent an attack they should give us an offer we can't refuse. The Iranians keep missing the window. If they play games there won't be a lot of patience.”
At the same time, Trump has been presented with military options that involve directly targeting the supreme leader.
The Trump adviser said the Pentagon had presented the US President with numerous options.
“They have something for every scenario. One scenario takes out the ayatollah and his son and the mullahs,” the adviser said, referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, who is seen as a potential successor. “What the president chooses no one knows. I don't think he knows.”
A second source confirmed a plan to kill Khamenei and his son was floated to Trump several weeks ago.
Another senior Trump adviser said: “Trump is keeping his options open. He could decide on an attack at any moment.”
Zero Enrichment
In return, a senior US official said Witkoff and Kushner told Araghchi that Trump's position was “zero enrichment” on Iranian soil. But the official said that if the proposal includes “small, token enrichment,” and if the Iranians offer detailed proof that it poses no threat, the US will study it.
A source familiar with the talks told Axios that regional mediators told Iran and the US in recent days that any deal must enable both sides to claim victory and, if possible, also be something that Gulf countries can accept.
With the region bracing for war, the US official insisted that Washington would wait for Iran's proposal before deciding how to proceed, and whether there will be another round of talks.
CBS News quoted US officials as saying on Wednesday that Iran had floated the idea of pausing uranium enrichment for a specified period of time, possibly one to three years or five years, while some said this period covered the remainder of Trump's years in the White House.
For his part, Araghchi said on Friday that “Washington has not asked Tehran to permanently suspend uranium enrichment,” adding Tehran had not offered the US a temporary suspension of its uranium enrichment.
Iran's foreign minister said he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
Two US officials told Reuters that US military planning on Iran had reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing leadership change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump.
Araghchi said after indirect discussions in Geneva this week with Witkoff and Kushner that the sides had reached an understanding on main “guiding principles,” but that did not mean a deal was imminent.
The foreign minister, in an interview on MS NOW, said he had a draft counterproposal that could be ready in the next two or three days for top Iranian officials to review, with more US-Iran talks possible in a week or so.
Caption: US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House (AFP)
