Iran says no nuclear deal possible if US demands end to uranium enrichment

If the United States wants to end Iranian uranium enrichment then there will be no nuclear deal, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday, as the two nations headed for a fifth round of talks slated for Friday in Italy.

Uranium enrichment has been a central sticking point in US-Iran negotiations. Washington seeks a deal in which Tehran permanently ends enrichment, while Iran insists it has an unquestionable right to continue the process.

Earlier, the White House said US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed “a potential deal with Iran, which the president believes is moving along in the right direction.”

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump believed that “this deal with Iran could end in two ways. It could end in a very positive diplomatic solution, or it could end in a very negative situation for Iran.”