Iran’s hardline media accuses US of media pressure ahead of next round

The United States and Iran are nearing a broad agreement on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program, with talks progressing in recent weeks toward a framework that could be finalized at a planned meeting in the Middle East, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

Negotiators have made headway on key issues, particularly uranium enrichment, which remains the central point of contention, according to the report.

Sources told CNN that one proposal under consideration would involve the creation of a multinational consortium—possibly including regional partners and the International Atomic Energy Agency—to produce nuclear fuel for Iran’s civilian reactors. The US may also contribute to Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure as part of a broader agreement, though no final decisions have been made.

The ballistic missile issue is not part of the current negotiations, and sources said the US team, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff, is focused solely on the nuclear file to avoid complicating the process.

Austria’s domestic intelligence service believes Iran is actively pursuing a nuclear weapons program and expanding its missile capabilities, according to a report published by Fox News on Wednesday.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Austria’s equivalent of the FBI, said in a newly released report that Iran is seeking to rearm as part of a broader strategy to assert regional dominance and deter external threats.

The report describes Iran’s nuclear weapons development as “well advanced” and says Tehran now possesses a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads over long distances.

Fox News, which reviewed the report, said it contradicts the current US intelligence assessment. In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the United States believes Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not revived the program suspended in 2003.

The Austrian agency’s report also highlights Iran’s efforts to evade international sanctions, provide weapons to proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and use diplomatic cover in Vienna for intelligence activity. The Iranian embassy in Vienna is one of the largest that the Islamic Republic maintains in Europe.

Tehran on Wednesday denied a Reuters report citing two Iranian sources saying the country had agreed to pause uranium enrichment for a year in exchange for the US unfreezing of funds.

"The continuation of enrichment in Iran is a non-negotiable principle," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

"Reuters' new claim is the same kind of fabrication that has been repeatedly denied in the past—and proven to be false," he said.

Two Republican lawmakers have called for sanctions against Iraq as part of Washington's maximum pressure campaign on Iran.

"More than 4,400 American service members sacrificed their lives since the start of the Iraq War, yet today Iraq stands as nothing more than a puppet of Tehran," Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Greg Steube (R-FL) wrote in a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

US president Donald Trump says he told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that attacking Iran would be "inappropriate" at this point as a deal is very close.

"That could change at any moment," Trump told reporters on Wednesday, stressing that he did not trust Tehran.

"We're having some very good talks with Iran. We'll find out whether that means anything, but we're having good talks," he said.

The sixth round of talks between the foes is yet to be scheduled, but the President sounded confident that an agreement may be reached within weeks.

He warned, however, that the capability to disrupt Iran's nuclear program is there and can be deployed in no time.