Iran's Foreign Minister on Friday said that America had not insisted on zero-enrichment of uranium in nuclear talks, as US President Donald Trump said he was "considering" strikes on Tehran if an agreement was not reached.
Abbas Araghchi spoke as a second US aircraft carrier approached Middle East waters, further esclating tension between the two countries.
Asked on Friday if he was considering a limited military strike to pressure Iran to agree to terms over its nuclear programme, Mr Trump said: “I guess I can say I am considering that."
The US President has been warning about the possibility of strikes for weeks, first amid Iran's brutal crackdown on a nationwide protest movement, and then as Washington and Tehran once again came to the negotiating table to wrangle over the Iranian nuclear programme.
During his first term as President, in 2018, Mr Trump withdrew the US from an agreement Iran signed with world powers.
Washington and Tehran began talks on a new nuclear deal in April 2025, but negotiations collapsed amid the air war between Israel and Iran. The conflict culminated in a US strike in June, which the Trump administration said "obliterated" Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.
On Thursday, Mr Trump gave Iran a deadline of between 10 and 15 days to come to an agreement.
The last round of talks between the US and Iran was held in Geneva on Tuesday. After the negotiations, US officials said that “progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss”.
At the heart is the issue of uranium enrichment. Israel and the US have said they want Iran to cease all enrichment activity and dismantle plants. Iran insists on retaining some fuel-making capacity for peaceful purposes.
Mr Araghchi said in an interview with MSNBC that American negotiators have not requested Tehran end its nuclear enrichment programme.
“We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not asked for zero-enrichment,” he said.
“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever.”
This contradicts statements from US officials.
Mr Araghchi said the next step in talks between the two sides involved him presenting a draft of a possible deal to Washington “in the next two, three days”.
“A fast deal is something that both sides are interested in,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Araghchi discussed Iran’s nuclear talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow said.
As these developments unfolded, the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group, the world’s largest warship and the most advanced in the US Navy, entered the Mediterranean Sea, according to ItaMilRadar, a military aircraft and ships monitor.
The BBC said it had verified pictures posted on social media showing the aircraft carrier heading through the Strait of Gibraltar.
The maritime tracking website said that the first hull to cross into the Mediterranean was the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mahan, operating ahead of the carrier. The USS Gerald R Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is already in the region.
Meanwhile, the British government has refused to confirm whether it denied the White House permission to use UK airbases in any future strike against Iran.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is understood to have blocked a request by Mr Trump to allow American bombers to use British bases including Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to attack Iran, telling him such a move would breach international law.
Whitehall’s stance has now exposed strains in the transatlantic alliance at a sensitive diplomatic moment. The Fairford base serves as a key hub for America’s heavy bomber presence in Europe while Diego Garcia has long been regarded as a strategic platform for US power projection.
