Iranian state media said on June 2 that “Iran is preparing its response to US proposal.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is attempting to figure out what to do next. “Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that Iran is preparing an appropriate response to an official proposal from the United States regarding the nuclear talks mediated by Oman,” the IRNA Iran state media report said.
Araqchi made his announcement in a cabinet session in Iran on Sunday. The Iranian diplomat briefed the government on the talks with the US. The talks are supposed to head to their sixth meeting. The fifth meeting was considered good, but since then, there have been hurdles.
International warnings on Iran's nuclear activities
A new International Atomic Energy Agency report indicates that Iran is carrying out secret nuclear activities. It also has enriched material that it didn’t declare at three locations in Iran, Reuters noted. This could “pave the way for a push by the United States, Britain, France and Germany for the board to declare Iran in violation of its non-proliferation obligations,” Reuters noted.
The report could push the talks into overdrive or lead to a crisis. Iran seems to feel neither is coming.
“Iran received the proposal on Saturday from Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi during his visit to Tehran,” IRNA noted. Iran’s foreign minister said that Oman’s top diplomat visited Iran on May 31 to discuss the US proposal. “The proposal, prepared by the U.S. president’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, is the first official proposal sent to Iran since the two sides began the ongoing negotiations in early April,” IRNA noted. “Witkoff and Araqchi, who represent their countries in the negotiations, have so far held five rounds of indirect talks aimed at reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear program. Iran says any agreement must respect its right to uranium enrichment and lift the sanctions in place against the Iranian nation,” the report added.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said Iran will consider its own red lines when responding to the recent US proposal. “Iran would not accept any text containing “radical and maximal demands” that disregards the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian nation, he said, referring to the U.S.’s proposal submitted to Iran as part of the ongoing indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington,” IRNA noted.
The talks suggest both sides are buying time. For Iran’s leadership, an agreement could unlock billions in frozen assets and reduce sanctions pressure. What’s missing from the current process is a long-term framework that addresses not only Iran’s nuclear program but also its regional behavior. Washington’s pursuit of a deal continues to lack clarity. US President Donald Trump clearly wants a win either with Iran, a Gaza deal or a Ukraine deal.
As Iran deepens ties with Russia and China, strengthening its place in the emerging multipolar world, the stakes of the nuclear file extend beyond centrifuges and uranium. They reflect the larger contest over influence in the Middle East and the assumption in Iran and Moscow that a post-American order is emerging. Nevertheless, Iran still needs a deal. It just doesn’t want to violate its red lines.