Iran says nuclear deal with US is very close if three conditions are met
A nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States is within reach if Washington meets three key conditions, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said in an interview with NEWS.am, an Armenian news outlet, during his visit to Yerevan.
“If the United States departs from its old policy of not respecting the rights of other nations, including Iran; if it accepts Iran's right to peaceful nuclear activity under the Non-Proliferation Treaty; and if it provides an objective guarantee for the lifting of sanctions, then I think an agreement is very close,” NEWS.am quoted Khatibzadeh as saying.
"Iran does not want to be blown up. They would rather make a deal. And I think that could happen in the not-too-distant future," US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday.
"That would be a great thing. If we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East, that would be a very good thing," he added.
"They can't have a nuclear weapon. We want them to be safe. We want them to have a very, very successful nation. Let it be a great nation, but we can't have that. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple. I think we're fairly close to a deal with Iran."
Western powers are preparing to push the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors to formally declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time since 2005, Reuters reported on Friday citing diplomats.
Reuter's report said that United States, Britain, France, and Germany are expected to submit a draft resolution at the board’s next quarterly meeting, beginning June 9, after the UN nuclear watchdog issues a comprehensive report on Iran’s nuclear activities and level of cooperation.
According to Reuters, the report is expected to be critical of Iran, particularly in response to a November board resolution demanding improved cooperation.
“We expect the comprehensive report to be tough, but there were already no doubts over Iran not keeping its non-proliferation commitments,” Reuters quoted one European official as saying.
The United States will draft the resolution declaring Iran in breach of its safeguards obligations once the IAEA report is issued, three diplomats were quoted as saying.
A fourth diplomat said the Western powers were already preparing the draft, though did not specify its language.
The last time the IAEA board took such a step was in September 2005, leading to Iran’s referral to the UN Security Council in February 2006. That referral resulted in a series of UN sanctions on Iran.
“The board has passed all recent resolutions proposed by the Western powers on Iran, and there is little doubt that this one would go through as well. The only question is how large the majority would be,” Reuters quoted a diplomat as saying.
Russia and China are expected to oppose the resolution, as they have with past Western-led efforts
"Threatening to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities is a clear red line, and crossing it will have severe consequences," IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported Friday, citing a political source in Tehran.
The source accused the United States of using negotiations as a pressure tactic rather than a path to agreement.
“As time goes on, public opinion in Iran is increasingly realizing that the American side is not serious about a deal and is pursuing the negotiations not for a fair and realistic agreement, but to weaken and pressure Iran,” the source was quoted as saying.
The US, Britain, France, and Germany are preparing to push the UN nuclear watchdog to declare Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations at the upcoming IAEA meeting — the first such declaration in nearly two decades, Reuters reported citing diplomats.
Reuter's report said that United States, Britain, France, and Germany are expected to submit a draft resolution at the board’s next quarterly meeting, beginning June 9, after the UN nuclear watchdog issues a comprehensive report on Iran’s nuclear activities and level of cooperation.
According to Reuters, the report is expected to be critical of Iran, particularly in response to a November board resolution demanding improved cooperation.
At least 20 people have been arrested across Iran since truck drivers launched a nationwide strike on May 22, with political prisoners in Tehran’s Evin Prison voicing support on the protest’s ninth day.
Arrests have been made across Iran, including in the north, south, and west, according to a report on Friday by US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The Union of Truck Drivers and Transport Workers called for the immediate release of those detained and vowed to continue the strike until their demands are met.
Drivers are demanding better working conditions, higher freight rates, and relief from high insurance costs and fuel restrictions.
Earlier, the Union of Truck Drivers and Transport Workers had announced that 11 drivers were arrested in Kermanshah and some others in Sanandaj, both Kurdish-populated cities in western Iran.
The union accused security forces of using pepper spray and violence against protesters at the Sanandaj terminal.
Iranian authorities in several provinces confirmed further arrests.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in Gilan province, in northern Iran, said a citizen was detained in Rasht for allegedly supporting opposition groups.
Its branch in Khuzestan province, in the southwest, reported two arrests in Bandar Imam.
The police chief of Bandar Lengeh, a southern port city in Hormozgan province, said one person was detained for posting a video encouraging participation in the strike, which was shared with foreign-based media.
In Shiraz, located in the south-central province of Fars, the local prosecutor announced the arrest of several drivers on charges of “disrupting transportation,” without specifying how many were detained.
The strike has spread to more than 141 cities despite the crackdown, signaling one of the largest coordinated labor actions in Iran in recent months.
Growing support for strikes
The nationwide strike has drawn support from activists and political prisoners.
On Friday, 13 political prisoners at Evin Prison in Tehran issued a message backing the strike, saying: “We, the political prisoners, stand alongside the truck drivers and all those on strike at this critical moment in history.”
The strike has spread to more than 141 cities despite the crackdown, signaling one of the largest coordinated labor actions in Iran in recent months.
Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi on Friday called on labor unions around the world to support striking truck drivers and workers in Iran, who he said are risking their lives by demanding their rights amid arrests and intimidation.
“Only in a free Iran will all workers have the right to freely and openly organize,” Pahlavi wrote on X. “I invite you, labor unions and leaders, to stand with your fellow workers in Iran and show your solidarity.”
