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THE negotiations aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran underscore how far apart Washington and Tehran still seem to remain. In particular, confusion surrounding Iran’s position on its enriched uranium stockpile has illustrated how fraught the diplomacy has been.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran’s supreme leader had instructed that the country’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remain inside Iran, directly challenging one of Washington’s core demands. The US, backed by Israel, wants the material transferred abroad. But senior Iranian officials later denied that any “new order” had been issued, insisting Tehran’s position had remained consistent: that the material could be diluted domestically under supervision.
Iran has argued that transferring it abroad would leave the country exposed to future attacks. That disagreement has complicated matters, with US President Donald Trump insisting, “we will get it”.
In fact, the talks are not simply about limiting Iran’s nuclear activities. They are entangled with the wider issue of trust, or rather, the absence of it. Iranian officials increasingly suspect that the ceasefire may merely be a tactical pause before fresh strikes. Trump’s warnings that military action could resume if Tehran fails to provide the “right answers” have reinforced those fears. Iran’s response has been equally defiant, with officials saying that another attack could trigger confrontation beyond the Middle East. Even so, Tehran continues signalling that negotiations remain possible if credible guarantees against future attacks can be secured.
