US says Iran can only import enriched uranium for civil program

24/4/2025 6:09

Iran will have to stop enriching

uranium under any deal with the United States and could only

import what is needed for a civilian nuclear program, U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said ahead of talks between

Tehran and Washington on Saturday.



However, Iran has already made clear that its right to

enrich uranium is not negotiable. When asked about Rubio's

comments, a senior Iranian official, close to Iran's negotiating

team, again said on Wednesday "zero enrichment is unacceptable."



The U.S. is seeking to prevent Iran from developing a

nuclear bomb and President Donald Trump has imposed a "maximum

pressure" campaign of sanctions and threatened to use military

force if Iran does not end its nuclear program.



Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon and says

its nuclear program is peaceful. U.S. and Iranian officials will

meet in Oman on Saturday for a third round of talks on Tehran's

disputed nuclear program.



"There's a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program if

they want one," Rubio told the "Honestly with Bari Weiss"

podcast on Tuesday.



"But if they insist on enriching, then they will be the only

country in the world that doesn't have a 'weapons program,' ...

but is enriching. And so I think that's problematic," he said.



U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff last week said Iran

does not need to enrich past 3.67% - a remark that raised

questions as to whether Washington still wanted Tehran to

dismantle its enrichment program.



Witkoff then said a day later that Iran must "stop and

eliminate its nuclear enrichment."



Rubio said on Tuesday that Witkoff was initially talking

about "the level of enriched material that they would be allowed

to import from outside, like multiple countries around the world

do for their peaceful civil nuclear programs."



"If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one

just like many other countries in the world have one, and that

is they import enriched material," he said.



The U.N. nuclear watchdog - the International Atomic Energy

Agency - has said that Iran is "dramatically" accelerating

enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly

90% weapons-grade level.



Western countries say there is no need to enrich uranium to

such a high level for civilian uses and that no other country

has done so without producing nuclear bombs.