ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed skepticism over ongoing negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program, citing Tehran’s uranium enrichment demands as a major obstacle to reaching an agreement. He further confirmed that a new round of talks is scheduled for Thursday and warned that failure to reach a deal could lead to “very dire” consequences.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump emphasized that Iran’s insistence on continuing uranium enrichment is unacceptable to Washington.
“They seek enrichment,” Trump said. “That’s something we can’t have. We want just the opposite, and so far, they’re not there.”
“They don’t want to give up what they have to give up.”
The US president underscored the seriousness of the situation, warning that the alternative to a deal would be “a very, very dire one.”
“We are trying to make a deal so that there’s no destruction and death,” he noted, adding, “I’ve told them that, and I hope that’s the way it works out - but it might not. We’ll soon find out.”
Indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, mediated by Oman, have been underway since April 12. The fifth and most recent round took place on May 23. Trump revealed on Monday that a sixth round is scheduled for Thursday, during which a new Iranian proposal will be reviewed.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed that Tehran plans to submit a proposal via Oman “once it is finalized.”
“This proposal is reasonable, logical, and balanced,” Baghaei said, adding that Iran is seeking assurances that “before the lifting of sanctions, Iran will effectively benefit economically and that its banking and trade relations with other countries will return to normal."
The Iranian foreign minister spokesperson further criticized a previous US proposal for a deal, delivered through Oman in late May, describing it as “unacceptable” and lacking the elements of “active and bilateral negotiation.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also weighed in on Sunday, stating that Tehran was preparing a response to the US proposal. He further accused Washington of aiming to “deprive us of our international right to enrich uranium” without offering meaningful sanctions relief.
While some media reports suggested that the US might permit Iran to enrich uranium at low levels for a limited time, Trump contradicted this in a social media post last week stating, “Under our potential agreement - WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!”
A day later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei firmly rejected the United States’ “no uranium enrichment” precondition for a nuclear deal, framing the issue as a matter of national sovereignty.
“The first thing the US insists on is that Iran should not have a nuclear industry, so that we would be dependent on [the United States],” Khamenei said. “Our response to the US’s nonsense is clear: they cannot do a damn thing about it.”
The Iranian supreme leader further criticized Washington’s opposition to Tehran’s uranium enrichment capabilities, asserting that the issue is a sovereign right and not subject to foreign interference.
The current talks represent the most substantial engagement between the two countries since 2018, when Trump - during his first term in office - withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear agreement - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Under the JCPOA, Tehran had agreed to limit its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. Following the US withdrawal and the reimposition of sweeping sanctions, Iran gradually scaled back its compliance.
A central sticking point in the revived negotiations remains uranium enrichment. While US negotiators are pushing for “zero enrichment” by Iran, Tehran maintains that this condition is a nonstarter.
