Mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan have not yet yielded a breakthrough on the core enrichment question that has divided the two sides since the war began.
Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, this week delivered a firm response to speculation that the US seeks the removal of Tehran's enriched uranium stockpile. 'Even a particle of enriched uranium will not exit Iran at all,' Rezaei said, describing the material as a national asset for domestic use. Lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi reiterated that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, arguing enrichment is a right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and unrelated to Washington, which should instead focus on its own arms reductions.
On the other side, President Donald Trump has called for 'zero uranium enrichment', while Vice President JD Vance argued that Iran must demonstrate a commitment to non-proliferation by making a 'meaningful' reduction in its enrichment capacity, questioning why Iran requires 60 percent enriched fuel for civilian purposes. 'I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity,' Vance said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced that the US will not support a deal that creates a pathway for a nuclear weapon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained his pledge to topple the Iranian government.
Foreign policy analyst Mostafa Najafi highlighted a key asymmetry in the talks, noting that the US seeks major nuclear concessions while being 'unwilling to offer significant concessions such as lifting sanctions'. The war, launched in February on the stated grounds of an imminent nuclear threat, killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has never resolved the fundamental question of Iran's enrichment programme. The June MoU identified downblending under IAEA supervision as a minimum approach, but failed to reach a comprehensive deal within the stipulated 60 days, leading to the current stalemate.
With the conflict causing a global energy crisis and spreading to new theatres like Yemen, the core question remains whether a framework can reconcile Iran's insistence on its NPT rights with the US demand for a verifiable, long-term guarantee against weaponisation.