The Trump administration sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal on Saturday, the White House confirmed.
The Times of Israel reported that White House Press Secretary said that the administration, represented by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, had sent Iran “detailed and acceptable proposal” for a renewed nuclear deal.
The New York Times, citing the Iranian foreign minister, added:
The United States presented its first formal proposal to Tehran for elements of a nuclear deal on Saturday, just hours after U.N. inspectors reported a major surge over the past three months in the size of Tehran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium.
The document was described by officials familiar with the diplomatic exchanges as a series of bullet points but not a full draft of an agreement. It calls for Iran to cease all enrichment of uranium and proposes the creation of a regional consortium to produce nuclear power that would involve Iran; Saudi Arabia and other Arab states; and the United States.
The offer marked the first time since negotiations began in early April that the lead American negotiator, Steve Witkoff, had put forth a proposal on paper.
The two sides are reportedly still at odds about whether Iran will be able to retain enrichment capacity. Reports also suggest the proposed deal does not include provisions to prevent Iran from supporting terror or continuing its ballistic missile program, or requiring Iran to show progress on human rights.
The reported terms appear similar to those accepted by President Barack Obama in a 2015 deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. Trump seems to have suggested in recent days that his proposed new nuclear deal will have stronger provisions regarding the inspection of suspected Iranian nuclear sites.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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