Iranian official announces cessation of nuclear enrichment in Tehran if U.S. removes sanctions

In the ongoing saga of Iran's nuclear program, negotiations between Iran and the United States remain contentious and unresolved as of August 2025. This article, penned by Dr. Mansour Al-Maswari, a Yemeni academician, provides an insightful analysis of the current state of affairs.

The negotiations, which have seen several rounds of indirect talks mediated by Oman since early 2025, have been marked by discussions in Muscat, Rome, and subsequent rounds aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal. However, the talks are stalled over critical issues such as uranium enrichment levels and location, sanctions removal, guarantees, and broader security concerns.

On the U.S. side, led by Trump's special envoy Witkoff, the goal is to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapons capability. This includes demands to move Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile out of the country in exchange for lifting sanctions. In contrast, Iran insists on retaining its enriched uranium stockpile within its borders and wants guarantees against any future U.S. withdrawal or violation of the deal.

Economic sanctions remain a major sticking point. Iran has indicated willingness to take steps to reassure the international community about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program only if sanctions are removed. Direct talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continue, with Iran rejecting third-party mediation and opposing European powers’ threats to trigger the UN "snapback" mechanism that could restore multilateral sanctions—a move Tehran calls illegal.

The internal Iranian political dynamic shows some push for negotiation under new SNSC leadership, but significant mistrust and maximalist positions from both Iran and the U.S. persist. The lack of trust in the U.S., according to Esmaeil Baghaee, is due to America's involvement in recent Israeli attacks.

Despite this, Iran signals willingness to accept limited restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of U.S. sanctions. Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's Assistant Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, indicated that Iran could agree to time-bound and fair limitations on its peaceful nuclear activities if the United States lifts sanctions.

Negotiations with European countries continue, according to Esmaeil Baghaei and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. However, no concrete decisions have been made on future talks with the U.S. or their venues. The article was published on August 11th, 2025, by Al Bawaba.

Dr. Al-Maswari, the author of this article, holds a Ph.D. in English "Comparative Literature" and two MA degrees, one in political science and the other in English. He has more than 17 years of extensive experience in university-level teaching, research, research reviewing, bilingual translation, and copy-writing. Dr. Al-Maswari is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University-Global Center, Amman.

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