Iran preparing proposal for US, says foreign minister

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Iran’s foreign minister said he hoped a proposal for a nuclear deal would be presented to the US in the coming days as President Donald Trump said he was considering launching limited strikes to press the regime into making a “fair” agreement.

Abbas Araghchi on Friday said he hoped to reach a “fast deal” with the US to prevent “an unnecessary and disastrous war”.

Araghchi told MSNBC that he expected “the draft of a possible deal” to be ready to be presented to US negotiators in the next two to three days. “I don’t think it takes long, perhaps in a matter of a week or so, we can start real serious negotiations on the text and come to a conclusion,” he said.

Trump on Friday said Washington’s options included limited strikes designed to press the regime into making a deal, as opposed to a broader military campaign. “I guess I can say I am considering it,” the US president said when asked about the plans.

He later said the Iranian government had “better negotiate a fair deal”.

“I feel very badly for the people of Iran, they’ve lived in hell,” he added, as he cited a figure of 32,000 Iranians killed during the regime’s crackdown on protesters in January. “The people of Iran are a lot different than the leaders of Iran.”

Human rights group Hrana said it has confirmed more than 7,000 deaths during the unrest and is investigating more. Tehran puts the toll lower at 3,117.

The Iranian foreign minister’s comments came after Trump on Thursday said Iran had a “maximum” of 15 days to reach a deal with the US, or “bad things will happen”.

Araghchi claimed Washington had not asked Tehran to permanently suspend uranium enrichment as part of a future deal, something the US president has repeatedly called for. “We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not asked for zero enrichment,” he said.

In response to the foreign minister’s interview, a White House official said Trump “has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them, and that they cannot enrich uranium.”

Washington has assembled its biggest military force in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq to pile pressure on Tehran.

The deployment includes 12 American warships, according to the US Navy, including an aircraft carrier and eight destroyers. A second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, is also en route to the region.

Brent crude was stable on Friday after rising 5.5 per cent this week to trade around a six-month high.

However, Araghchi said he did not see Trump’s 15-day timeline and the amassing of US firepower as an “ultimatum”.

“A fast deal is something that both sides are interested about,” he said.

US and Iranian delegates earlier this week held indirect talks in Geneva over a possible nuclear deal. Both sides reported “progress” and a US official said Iran would return within two weeks with “detailed proposals”.

But US vice-president JD Vance said at the time that Trump had some “red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge”, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “We’re still very far apart on some issues.”

Permanently dismantling its capacity to enrich — a process that can yield nuclear fuel and weapons-grade material — is a red line for Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

The US has also said the talks should include curbing Iran’s ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional militants. Tehran, however, insists those topics are off limits, arguing the focus should solely be on the nuclear programme.

Araghchi on Friday said Iran was looking for the lifting of US sanctions in return for “political commitments and technical measures” from Tehran “in order to make sure that this programme is only for peaceful purposes”.

“One thing I have to emphasise is that there is no military solution for Iran’s nuclear programme,” he said. “We are prepared for . . . war, and we are prepared for peace.”

Additional reporting by Rachel Rees in London