Trump says deal with Iran very close, military strike inappropriate for now

Iran will not back down from its position on preserving its nuclear enrichment cycle and peaceful nuclear knowledge, the country’s top security official said during a visit to Moscow, according to Iranian media.

“Iran will not retreat from its principles in maintaining the enrichment cycle and the peaceful use of nuclear knowledge,” said Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, during talks with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.

Ahmadian said Tehran remains committed to resolving issues through dialogue but stressed its nuclear policy was non-negotiable.

An Iranian outlet close to the country’s Supreme National Security Council accused the United States on Thursday of using media tactics to pressure Tehran ahead of the next round of nuclear negotiations.

NourNews wrote on X that “media hype and early remarks by senior US officials” about the yet-to-be-finalized sixth round of talks are aimed at pressuring the Iranian negotiating team.

“The outcome will be decided at the table, after securing both sides' interests—not through media spin,” the post said.

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.

Iran may agree to pause enrichment for a year if the United States releases frozen funds and recognizes Tehran's right to enrich uranium, Reuters says citing Iranian officials.

The sources hinted at a "political understanding" between Tehran and Washington that could see the former halt refining uranium for a year, ship part of its highly enriched stock abroad or convert it into fuel plates for civilian nuclear purposes.

Reuters quoted one source as saying that this "has not been discussed yet" during the talks with the US negotiating team.

Israel on Thursday rejected a report in the New York Times that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to disrupt talks on a nuclear deal between the United States and Iran by striking Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities.

Netanyahu's office issued a statement in response to the article which said simply: "Fake news."

The New York Times has responded by saying it stood by the report, according to Reuters.

"The New York Times reporting on this matter is thorough and based on discussions with people directly familiar with the matter. We remain confident in what we published," Reuters reported citing a written statement from the paper

UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi says any deal between Iran and the US should include "very robust" inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"My impression is that if you have that type of agreement, a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA ... should be a prerequisite, and I'm sure it will be, because it would imply a very, very serious commitment on the part of Iran, which must be verified," Grossi told reporters on Wednesday.

When asked about the differences between Tehran and Washington, especially on the matter of Iran's domestic enrichment program, he said: ""I think there's always a way ... It's not impossible to reconcile the two points of view."