US and Iran claim to be 'close' to a nuclear deal

Four rounds of talks have been held since April 12

US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. Reuters

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Washington was close to reaching a deal with Tehran, a day after an Iranian official said his country was ready for an agreement in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

"I think we're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” Mr Trump said during a roundtable in Doha. "We'd like to see if we can solve the Iran problem in an intelligent as opposed to a brutal way - intelligent and brutal those are the two alternatives."

Four rounds of talks between the US and Iran, mediated by Oman, have been held since April 12, with both sides describing them as positive. However, despite the talks, Washington has continued to impose sanctions on Tehran's nuclear programme and oil industry, with the latest issued on Wednesday.

Iran could accept curbs on its nuclear programme and forego highly enriched uranium in exchange for a deal that would see sanctions lifted, a top Iranian official said on Wednesday.

Ali Shamkhani, adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Tehran could agree to never develop nuclear weapons, give up stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and allow inspectors to nuclear sites if economic sanctions were lifted.

In a conversation with NBC News, Mr Shamkhani replied “yes” when asked whether Iran would be willing to sign an agreement with the administration of US President Donald Trump, if sanctions were lifted “immediately”.

He said Iran could commit to never making nuclear weapons and would get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponised, the US media outlet reported.

Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 per cent purity – far above the 3.67 per cent limit set in the 2015 deal but below the 90 per cent needed for weapons-grade material. Mr Trump left the deal during his first term in office and Tehran has significantly increased its enrichment since then.

Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

The latest sanctions target six individuals and 12 entities for what the Treasury Department said was “their involvement in efforts to help the Iranian regime domestically source the manufacturing of critical materials needed for Tehran’s ballistic missile programme”.

Mr Shamkhani criticised Mr Trump's stance on Iran and the continuing threats even as talks are taking place. “He talks about the olive branch, which we have not seen. It's all barbed wire,” he said.

“A lot of people want me to go the other route–they say knock it out. We have the best and strongest military equipment in the world–we knocked out ISIS in three weeks,” Mr Trump said. He chose the diplomatic route instead, he added.

The idea to limit uranium enrichment in exchange for a deal was also floated by Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi on Tuesday. “For a limited period of time, we can accept a series of restrictions on the level and volume of enrichment, he said, quoted by Tasnim news agency.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Iran was the only country in the world without nuclear weapons that enriches uranium to that level.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the latest talks that the right to enrich uranium was “non-negotiable”, while US chief negotiator Steve Witkoff called it a “red line”.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday described as “unacceptable” calls by US officials for Iran to dismantle its nuclear centres.

On Wednesday, he said Iran would not “bow to any bully” in response to Mr Trump's criticism of Tehran during his Gulf tour.