ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥 U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has an American proposal over its rapidly advancing nuclear program as negotiations between the two countries go on.
Trump’s remarks represent the first time he’s acknowledged an American proposal is with Tehran after multiple rounds of negotiations between .
Negotiations have gotten into the 鈥渆xpert鈥 level 鈥 meaning the two sides are trying to see if they can reach any agreement on the details of any possible deal. But one major sticking point remains Iran’s enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration increasingly insists the Islamic Republic must give up.
Trump discusses proposal on Air Force One
Trump made the comment aboard Air Force One as he ended his trip to the United Arab Emirates, the last stop on that also included Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
At nearly every event he attended in the region, he insisted that Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb 鈥 something American intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not actively pursuing though its program is on the cusp of being able to weaponize.
A reporter asked Trump: 鈥淥n Iran, has the U.S. given them a formal proposal? Has Steve Witkoff handed that over?鈥
鈥淭hey have a proposal,鈥 Trump responded. 鈥淏ut most importantly, they know they have to move quickly, or something bad is going to happen.鈥
Trump did not elaborate on the substance of the proposal and Iran did not immediately acknowledge having it. On Thursday, Araghchi spoke to journalists at the Tehran International Book Fair and said that Iran did not have any proposal from the Americans yet.
Araghchi also criticized what he called conflicting and inconsistent statements from the Trump administration, describing them as either a sign of disarray in Washington or a calculated negotiation strategy. Witkoff at one point suggested that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later began saying that all Iranian enrichment must stop.
鈥淲e are hearing many contradictory statements from the United States 鈥 from Washington, from the president, and from the new administration,鈥 Araghchi said. 鈥淪ometimes we hear two or three different positions in a single day.鈥
Talks have been held in Oman and Rome
Iranian and American officials have been in Oman and Rome for the negotiations, always mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, a trusted interlocutor between the two nations. The talks seek to limit Iran鈥檚 nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, .
Trump has repeatedly threatened to if a deal isn鈥檛 reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to strike Iran鈥檚 nuclear facilities on their own if it feels threatened, further complicating tensions in the Mideast already spiked by .
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
