The proposal for the Iranian nuclear program that the United States has handed over Saturday to the Islamic Republic allows Tehran to have limited capacity of uranium enrichment at a low level for a period of time, the US news website said today.

Although the United States publicly proclaims that they will not allow Iran to enrich uranium and require complete disassembly of its nuclear program, Trump’s secret proposal shows greater flexibility in these two critical areas.

The backdrop of the proposal

As two sources with immediate knowledge of the subject in Axios revealed, the proposal of US special envoy Steve Whitkov allows Iran to maintain limited enrichment for political purposes – something that Tehran considers a red line and refuses to abandon.

However, this approach contradicts the hard lines adopted by the US so far, already sparking reactions from their allies in Congress and Israel.

Content of the proposal

The proposal, submitted on Saturday, describes a series of “key positions” for the next round of talks:

Prohibition of new nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran

Interruption of research and development for advanced centrifugal systems

Dissolution of critical uranium processing and conversion infrastructure

Restriction of enrichment to 3% for an agreed period of time

Disable underground enrichment facilities

Surveillance by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the immediate approval of the additional protocol

The proposal also provides for a gradual lifting of sanctions, only if Iran proves to comply with both the US and IAEA.

Reactions and doubts

Iran, through Foreign Ministry spokesman Email Bagai, said Washington has not yet given sufficient assurances about when and how the sanctions would be lifted. The proposal, according to him, is still under consideration.

On the other hand, Israel and several Republican senators express strong objections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned of military action against Iran and is allegedly ready to act independently of US stance.

White House attitude

Although the White House did not deny the details of the proposal they leaked, Karolin Levit’s spokesman emphasized that President Trump remains unmoved:

“The president has made it clear that he will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. The proposal is detailed and advantageous to Iran. It is up to them to accept it, “he said.

What follows

It is expected to be set shortly by the sixth round of talks aimed at reaching a final agreement. Although the new proposal is reminiscent of the 2015 nuclear agreement from which Trump left 2018, includes new data and surveillance mechanisms.