Gaps remain in US–Iran nuclear negotiations - Reuters

Iran's nuclear chief on Thursday rejected allegations of secret weapons activity, saying the country has never operated an undeclared nuclear site and that all its activities remain under the oversight of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, told the closing session of the 31st National Nuclear Conference in Mashhad that “Iran has never had any undeclared or covert nuclear activity,” and that all operations are conducted “within the framework of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”

Eslami said IAEA inspectors continue to conduct both announced and unannounced visits to Iranian nuclear facilities and noted that more than 25% of all global IAEA inspections in 2024 took place in Iran, despite Iran holding a small share of the world’s nuclear infrastructure.

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Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, told the closing session of the 31st National Nuclear Conference in Mashhad that “Iran has never had any undeclared or covert nuclear activity,” and that all operations are conducted “within the framework of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”

Eslami said IAEA inspectors continue to conduct both announced and unannounced visits to Iranian nuclear facilities and noted that more than 25% of all global International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections in 2024 took place in Iran, despite Iran holding a small share of the world’s nuclear infrastructure.

His comments follow a Fox News report citing satellite imagery and information from the opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which claimed a previously undisclosed facility—dubbed the “Rainbow Site”—in Semnan province has been operating for over a decade to extract tritium, a material used in advanced nuclear weapons. The NCRI alleged the site operates under the guise of a chemical firm, Diba Energy Siba.

Iranian officials have dismissed the report as politically motivated. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday the claims were part of a smear campaign amid indirect nuclear talks with the United States.

“More Very Scary Satellite Images are being circulated,” he wrote on X, accusing Israel of fueling disinformation via proxy groups.

Eslami accused Western powers of trying to destroy Iran’s technological achievements “through either hard or soft power,” and reiterated that Iran’s nuclear goals remain “entirely peaceful and transparent.”

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The IAEA has not publicly confirmed the existence of the so-called Rainbow Site, but its Director General Rafael Grossi recently warned that Tehran now possesses enough enriched uranium to produce “a few warheads” and could do so within months.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in April, Grossi said that while Iran has not yet built a nuclear weapon, “the material for it … is already there.”

Grossi also said that past research and testing related to nuclear weaponization by Iran remain a source of concern, with the agency lacking “full confidence that they have disappeared completely.”

Grossi described the current state of IAEA monitoring in Iran as “insufficient,” citing a significant shortfall in the agency’s visibility into the full scope of Iran’s nuclear activities.

During his recent visit to Tehran, Grossi met with senior Iranian officials to urge greater transparency, while also noting a strong international consensus—shared by Beijing—against the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran.

The IAEA remains the sole authority capable of verifying Iran’s compliance with nuclear commitments, and Grossi says any breakthrough in negotiations will hinge on technical clarity and inspection access.

The Trump administration gave Iran a written proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations on Sunday, a US official and two other sources with direct knowledge told Axios.

It was the first time since talks began in early April that White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented a formal written offer to Iranian officials.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi received the proposal during talks in Oman and took it back to Tehran for consultations with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and other senior officials, the sources said.

Sources told Axios that Araghchi had provided earlier proposals in previous rounds, which were reviewed by US officials. After exchanges of questions and clarifications, the US team drafted its own written framework for a civilian nuclear program, including terms for monitoring and verification.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has sharply rebuked US President Donald Trump’s recent comments made during his visit to Saudi Arabia, accusing the US leader of hypocrisy and blaming him for regional instability.

Speaking in Kermanshah on Thursday, Pezeshkian called Trump “naive for thinking he can come to our region, threaten us, and hope that we back down against his demands,” according to Iranian media.

“We will never negotiate our dignity. This is in the blood of every Iranian,” he added.

The Iranian president was responding to Trump’s remarks in Riyadh, where he criticized Iran’s leadership for mismanagement, environmental degradation, and funding terrorism.

Trump accused Iran’s rulers of turning “green farmland into desert” and using public wealth to “support terror and bloodshed.”

Pezeshkian dismissed the criticism and said Iranians would rebuild their country and region without foreign intervention. “The one who speaks of peace has brought destruction to our region,” he said, referring to Trump.

He denounced US sanctions and human rights accusations, saying, “Trump, you impose sanctions and then lecture us on human rights. All the unrest and crimes in the region are your doing.”

“You call us dangerous, but you carry out genocide in front of the world,” he said.

US President Donald Trump’s high-profile tour of the Persian Gulf has placed unprecedented diplomatic and symbolic pressure on Iran, exposing deep contrasts between the Islamic Republic and its southern neighbors, analyst Morad Veisi said.

While US policies have long strained Tehran, the latest visit—marked by lavish welcomes, multibillion-dollar tech and defense deals, and promises of AI-driven futures—delivered a “deeper and more dangerous” blow to Iran’s leadership than military threats, Veisi argued.

He added that the tour, highlighting development, prosperity, and future-oriented visions in the Persian Gulf nations, undermined Iran's attempts to portray them as solely oil-dependent economies.

“The Islamic Republic finds itself in a defensive and weakened position,” he said, pointing to the powerful contrast in media portrayals of progress in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, compared to Iran’s deepening infrastructure, economic, and social crises.

The trip also triggered painful comparisons among ordinary Iranians. “People are now asking: if not for the Islamic Republic, could Iran have kept pace—or even surpassed—its neighbors?” Veisi added.