US Will Reportedly Let Iran Enrich Uranium In Major Nuclear Deal Concession

The U.S. will reportedly allow Iran to enrich civilian-grade uranium in a proposed nuclear deal, marking a major concession from American negotiators, sources told Axios Monday.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly offered the deal to Iranian officials Saturday, with the proposal apparently including provisions to restrict uranium enrichment to civilian-grade 3% purity in strictly above-ground sites, and also to allow oversight from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Axios. Trump administration officials have previously insisted that any possible deal with Iran would not permit domestic enrichment.

Sanctions relief for Iran reportedly would only be provided if Iran “demonstrates real commitment” to staying within U.S. and IAEA guidelines, according to Axios. 

Iran’s stockpile of 60% purity uranium, which is enriched close to the roughly 90% levels needed for weapons grade, had grown to 408.6 kg, according to a confidential IAEA report viewed by Reuters on Saturday. Tehran has the capability to make nuclear weapons in about three weeks’ time with its stockpiles of near-weapons-grade uranium, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in February.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was an Obama-era nuclear deal that sought to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions by only allowing civilian enrichment overseen by the IAEA. However, the deal was criticized by many conservatives for being too soft on Iran, given its built-in sunset provisions.

Proponents of aggressive action against Iran’s nuclear program has advocated for the “Libyan model” for dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. Libya, under former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, voluntarily gave up its entire nuclear program in 2003 in exchange for an end to U.S. sanctions. However, some experts have noted that pursuing aggressive denuclearization could drag the U.S. into war with Iran.

“It’s the neoconservatives in the administration, people like Marco Rubio and people close to the president, like Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, are trying to steer him down a blind alley at the end of which is war with Iran,” Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the CATO Institute, previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If you say our goal is to get zero enrichment in Iran, then you’re either going to let Iran get nuclear weapons or you’re going to go to war with Iran, or both.”

Many nations who have civilian nuclear programs import enriched Uranium instead of making it themselves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Iran had been under-reporting its nuclear enrichment to international authorities in three different sites throughout the early 2000s, a confidential IAEA report reviewed by Reuters revealed.

The State Department referred the DCNF to a Monday statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb,” Leavitt said in the statement. “Special Envoy Witkoff has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime, and it’s in their best interest to accept it. Out of respect for the ongoing deal, the Administration will not comment on details of the proposal to the media.”