Iran would be ready to freeze its nuclear program for a long time, transfer highly enriched uranium abroad and accept a multi-phase truce. These are the rumors that have emerged in the last few hours on the revised document that Tehran would have presented in indirect negotiations with the United States and regional mediators. If confirmed, they could represent the first real glimmer of hope for negotiations after months of tensions and bombings.
Tehran’s proposals according to Al-Arabya
According to what has been leaked from sources cited by Al-Arabiya, Iran has asked for a prolonged and gradual truce, accompanied by a political formulation that allows the Iranian leadership to preserve its internal image, avoiding appearing forced to surrender.
The requests would also include a progressive and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic passage for global oil trade – with Oman and Pakistan in the role of guarantors in the event of friction. An important element because it would separate the security of the sea route from the nuclear issue, reducing the risk of new energy escalations. But the most delicate point concerns nuclear power.
According to rumors, Tehran has accepted a long-term freeze of its nuclear program instead of definitive dismantling. Furthermore, approximately 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium would be transferred to Russia, and not to the United States.
Iran also reportedly softened its position on reparations, replacing some demands with economic concessions.
If confirmed, it would be a significant turning point: for years Tehran has defended the right to enrichment as an element of national sovereignty, while now it would seem to accept much more rigid limits without formally giving up its program.
The US reaction to the indiscretion
In the last few hours, Donald Trump has declared that he is willing to accept a twenty-year suspension of Iran’s nuclear program, as long as it is real and verifiable.
A different position compared to the requests made in the past, when the American president asked for a permanent end to uranium enrichment and the impossibility for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.
The opening towards a very long suspension, instead of total dismantling, seems to come close to the solution that would emerge from the rumors about the Iranian document: freezing the program for decades rather than definitively canceling it.
Washington’s denial came immediately, also via an indiscretion. “Iran has submitted an updated proposal for a deal to end the war, but the White House believes it does not represent a significant improvement and is insufficient to reach a deal,” a senior US official and a source briefed on the matter told Axios. US officials say President Trump wants a deal to end the war but is considering resuming it due to Iran’s rejection of many of his demands and its reluctance to make significant concessions on its nuclear program.
For his part, the American president declared that he was “not willing to make any concessions”. In a telephone interview with the New York Post, Donald Trump said that Iran knows “what will happen soon”, hinting that Washington could take new measures if no concrete progress is made in the talks.
However, today evening, Monday 18 May, the American president revealed that he “has suspended the attack scheduled for tomorrow under pressure from the Gulf States”. The tycoon then reiterated that “serious negotiations” were underway with Iran, effectively denying the statement released a few hours earlier. The picture therefore remains fluid and the next few hours will most likely be decisive.
Israel’s demands to end the war
And Israel’s requests are also on the table. Interviewed by CBS, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated days ago that the war cannot be said to be over until the enriched uranium is removed from Iran and the enrichment sites are dismantled.
“It’s not over, because there is still nuclear material that needs to be taken out of Iran,” he said. When asked how to proceed, he replied: “You go in and take it away.”
Netanyahu also spoke of dismantling nuclear sites, while the Iranian proposal seems to envisage only a long-term freeze, theoretically leaving open the possibility of reactivating the program in the future. A point on which Tel Aviv seems, at the moment, quite inflexible.