Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
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Iran Says No Sanctions Relief in US Nuclear Proposal

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. AFP/File

Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appeared to have hit a roadblock.

The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to replace a landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers that set restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, before US President Donald Trump abandoned the accord in 2018 during his first term, said AFP.

In a video aired on Iranian state TV, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the US plan does not even mention the lifting of sanctions".

He called it a sign of dishonesty, accusing the Americans of seeking to impose a "unilateral" agreement that Tehran would not accept.

"The delusional US president should know better and change his approach if he is really looking for a deal," Ghalibaf said.

On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal, with officials later taking issue with "ambiguities" in the draft text.

The US and its Western allies have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Iran has consistently denied, insisting that its atomic program was solely for peaceful purposes.

Key issues in the negotiations have been the removal of biting economic sanctions and uranium enrichment.

Tehran says it has the right to enrich uranium under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while the Trump administration has called any Iranian enrichment a "red line".

Trump, who has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran since taking office in January, has repeatedly said it will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.

On Tuesday, Iran's top negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said the country "will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium".

IAEA meeting

According to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent -- close to the 90 percent threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the latest US proposal and said enrichment was "key" to Iran's nuclear program.

The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to meet in Vienna starting Monday and discuss Iran's nuclear activities.

On Sunday the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran warned it could reduce its level of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if it adopts a resolution against it.

"Certainly, the IAEA should not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue its broad and friendly cooperation," the Iranian agency's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told state TV.

Araghchi on Friday accused European powers of "opting for malign action against Iran at the IAEA Board of Governors", warning on X that "Iran will react strongly against any violation of its rights".

A quarterly report from the IAEA issued last week cited a "general lack of cooperation" from Iran and raised concerns over undeclared nuclear material.

Tehran has rejected the report as politically motivated and based on "forged documents" it said had been provided by its arch foe Israel.



Iranian FM: US Bombing ‘Seriously Damaged’ Fordow Nuclear Site

This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies and dated July 1, 2025, shows activity near the perimeter building and southern holes caused by the June 22 US airstrike on the Fordo (Fordow) Fuel Enrichment Plant complex, about 30 kilometres north of Qom in central Iran. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies and dated July 1, 2025, shows activity near the perimeter building and southern holes caused by the June 22 US airstrike on the Fordo (Fordow) Fuel Enrichment Plant complex, about 30 kilometres north of Qom in central Iran. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
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Iranian FM: US Bombing ‘Seriously Damaged’ Fordow Nuclear Site

This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies and dated July 1, 2025, shows activity near the perimeter building and southern holes caused by the June 22 US airstrike on the Fordo (Fordow) Fuel Enrichment Plant complex, about 30 kilometres north of Qom in central Iran. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies and dated July 1, 2025, shows activity near the perimeter building and southern holes caused by the June 22 US airstrike on the Fordo (Fordow) Fuel Enrichment Plant complex, about 30 kilometres north of Qom in central Iran. (Photo by Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)

The US bombing of Iran's key Fordow nuclear site has "seriously and heavily damaged" the facility, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with CBS News.

"No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged," Araqchi said in the interview broadcast on Tuesday.

"The Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran... is currently undertaking evaluation and assessment, the report of which will be submitted to the government,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Intercepted Iranian communications downplayed the extent of damage caused by US strikes on Iran's nuclear program, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four people familiar with classified intelligence circulating within the US government.

President Donald Trump has said the strikes "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, but US officials acknowledge it will take time to form a complete assessment of the damage caused by the US military strikes.