Iran demands ‘watertight guarantees’ US will not ditch new nuclear deal: Report
The Cradle, April 18, 2025 ─
Eight years after Trump unilaterally abandoned the JCPOA, Tehran has said a new nuclear deal is possible if Washington makes no ‘unreasonable demands’.
Iranian officials informed US negotiators during talks in Oman last week that Tehran requires “watertight guarantees” that Washington will not again quit a nuclear deal in order to “accept some limits on its uranium enrichment,” according to a report by Reuters on 18 April.
“Tehran’s red lines ‘mandated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’ could not be compromised in the talks,” the British news outlet cites a senior Iranian official as saying.
The red lines reportedly include dismantling Iran’s centrifuges for enriching uranium, halting enrichment altogether, or reducing the amount of enriched uranium the Islamic Republic currently possesses. Negotiators will also “not negotiate over [Iran’s] missile programme, which Tehran views as outside the scope of any nuclear deal,” the report says.
“Iran understood in indirect talks in Oman that Washington doesn’t want Iran to stop all nuclear activities, and this can be a common ground for Iran and the US to start a fair negotiation,” the source added.
The report was published hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said from Moscow that a new nuclear deal is possible if Washington makes no “unreasonable demands.”
“We will only negotiate over the nuclear issue, and other topics will not be included in these negotiations … I believe there is a possibility of reaching an agreement if they demonstrate seriousness of intent and make no unrealistic and unreasonable demands,” Araghchi said during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Iran’s top diplomat also confirmed that his country will participate in a second round of negotiations with the US on Saturday in Rome.
“We have serious doubts about the intentions and motivations of the US side, but we will participate in tomorrow’s negotiations with full seriousness and determination,” Araghchi stressed.
Earlier this week, Khamenei said the first round of talks in Oman was “implemented well in their initial steps,” but added that the Islamic Republic is “very skeptical” of the other side.
During his first term in office, US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and launched a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran.
Trump restored that policy after returning to the White House in January. However, he has since indicated a willingness to negotiate a new deal to replace the 2015 JCPOA.
On 12 March, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s leadership, asking for negotiations to reach a new deal and threatening military action if Tehran refused.