Iran: "No Suspension of Uranium Enrichment Before US Sanctions Lifted"...Nuclear Deal Return Talks Face Difficulties

US Proposes Deal to Ease Sanctions and Halt Uranium Enrichment
US Wants Agreement Before Iran's June Election, Time Running Short

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Iranian government, currently negotiating the return to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) with the United States, has stated that it cannot halt uranium enrichment activities until the U.S. lifts all sanctions first, raising concerns that the negotiations will face further difficulties. Foreign media reported that the U.S., aiming to finalize the nuclear deal before the Iranian presidential election in June, is facing increasing time pressure.

According to major foreign media on the 30th (local time), Iran's state-run Press TV reported that "a senior Iranian official stated that Iran will stop 20% uranium enrichment only if the U.S. lifts all sanctions against Iran first." The report added, "The Iranian official warned that if the U.S. does not lift all sanctions, Iran will further reduce its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal," and "the U.S. is rapidly running out of time."

Earlier, according to the U.S. political media outlet Politico, the U.S. government proposed a negotiation plan requesting Iran to halt nuclear activities such as enriching uranium to 20% purity in exchange for partial easing of economic sanctions. However, as Iran rejected this, the nuclear negotiations are expected to face more difficulties.

Politico reported, "U.S. officials said that after Iran took a hardline stance, the chances of progress toward resuming nuclear talks before the June Iranian presidential election have diminished." Previously, the U.S. government had been striving to conclude negotiations before the election due to concerns about hardliners coming to power in Iran after the June election.

However, since Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "Iran does not trust the U.S. promise to lift sanctions and will only comply with the 2015 nuclear deal if the U.S. completely removes sanctions," the hardline stance against the U.S. within Iran has strengthened, causing the negotiations to continuously face difficulties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.