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Iran May Pause Enrichment for US Nod on Nuclear Rights, Release of Frozen Funds, Iranian Sources Say
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visits the Iranian centrifuges in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2023. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran may pause uranium enrichment if the US releases frozen Iranian funds and recognizes Tehran’s right to refine uranium for civilian use under a “political deal” that could lead to a broader nuclear accord, two Iranian official sources said.
The sources, close to the negotiating team, said on Wednesday a “political understanding with the United States could be reached soon” if Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions. One of the sources said the matter “has not been discussed yet” during the talks with the United States.
The sources told Reuters that under this arrangement, Tehran would halt uranium enrichment for a year, ship part of its highly enriched stock abroad or convert it into fuel plates for civilian nuclear purposes.
A temporary pause to enrichment would be a way to overcome an impasse over clashing red lines after five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
US officials have repeatedly said that any new nuclear deal with Iran – to replace a failed 2015 accord between Tehran and six world powers – must include a commitment to scrap enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied such intentions, saying it wants nuclear energy only for civilian purposes, and has publicly rejected Washington’s demand to scrap enrichment as an attack on its national sovereignty.
In Washington, a US official told Reuters the proposal aired by the Iranian sources had not been brought to the negotiating table to date. The US State Department and Iran‘s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this article.
The Iranian sources said Tehran would not agree to dismantling of its nuclear program or infrastructure or sealing of its nuclear installations as demanded by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Instead, they said, Trump must publicly recognize Iran‘s sovereign right to enrichment as a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and authorize a release of Iranian oil revenues frozen by sanctions, including $6 billion in Qatar.
Iran has not yet been able to access the $6 billion parked in a Qatar bank that was unfrozen under a US-Iranian prisoner swap in 2023, during US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Tehran wants its funds to be transferred to Iran with no conditions or limitations. If that means lifting some sanctions, then it should be done too,” the second source said.
The sources said the political agreement would give the current nuclear diplomacy a greater chance to yield results by providing more time to hammer out a consensus on hard-to-bridge issues needed for a permanent treaty.
“The idea is not to reach an interim deal, it would (rather) be a political agreement to show both sides are seeking to defuse tensions,” said the second Iranian source.
Western diplomats are skeptical of chances for US-Iranian reconciliation on enrichment. They warn that a temporary political agreement would face resistance from European powers unless Iran displayed a serious commitment to scaling back its nuclear activity with verification by the UN nuclear watchdog.
Even if gaps over enrichment narrow, lifting sanctions quickly would remain difficult. The US favors phasing out nuclear-related sanctions while Iran demands immediate removal of all US-imposed curbs that impair its oil-based economy.
Asked whether critical US sanctions, reimposed since 2018 when Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 pact, could be rescinded during an enrichment pause, the first source said: “There have been discussions over how to lift the sanctions during the five rounds of talks.”
Dozens of Iranian institutions vital to Iran‘s economy, including its central bank and national oil company, have been sanctioned since 2018 for, according to Washington, “supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation.”
Iran‘s clerical establishment is grappling with mounting crises – energy and water shortages, a plunge in the value of its currency, losses among regional militia proxies in wars with Israel, and growing fears of an Israeli strike on its nuclear sites – all exacerbated by Trump’s hardline stance.
Trump’s revival of a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran since he re-entered the White House in January has included tightened sanctions and threats to bomb Iran if current negotiations yield no deal.
Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran’s leadership “has no better option” than a new deal to avert economic chaos at home that could jeopardize clerical rule.
Nationwide protests over social repression and economic hardship in recent years met with harsh crackdowns but exposed the Islamic Republic’s vulnerability to public discontent and drew more Western sanctions over human rights violations.
The post Iran May Pause Enrichment for US Nod on Nuclear Rights, Release of Frozen Funds, Iranian Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Links $1.9 Billion in State Disaster Funds to Israel Boycott Stance
A resident enters a FEMA’s improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, US, Oct. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions.” Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.
The requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.
The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.
The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees FEMA, in April said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.
FEMA separately said in July that US states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.
The Israel requirement takes aim at BDS, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement designed to isolate the world’s lone Jewish state on the international stage as a step toward its eventual elimination.
“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal. The BDS movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The American Jewish Committee supports the Trump administration’s policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.
Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, FEMA will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas.
New York is due to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.
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Iran Sets Up New Defense Council in Wake of War With Israel
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran‘s top security body approved the establishment of a National Defenxe Council on Sunday, according to state media, following a short air war with Israel in June that was Iran‘s most acute military challenge since the 1980s war with Iraq.
“The new defense body will review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of Iran‘s armed forces in a centralized manner,” the Supreme National Security Council‘s Secretariat was quoted as saying by state media.
The defense council will be chaired by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and consists of the heads of the three government branches, senior armed forces commanders, and relevant ministries.
On Sunday, the commander-in-chief of Iran‘s military, Amir Hatami, warned that threats from Israel persist and should not be underestimated.
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Israel to Decide Next Steps in Gaza After Ceasefire Talks Collapse
Smoke rises from Gaza as the sun sets, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel‘s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option.
Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza.
But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the shattered enclave.
The failed ceasefire talks in Doha had aimed to clinch agreements on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages Hamas is holding would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
After Netanyahu met Witkoff last Thursday, a senior Israeli official said that “an understanding was emerging between Washington and Israel,” of a need to shift from a truce to a comprehensive deal that would “release all the hostages, disarm Hamas, and demilitarize the Gaza Strip,” – Israel‘s key conditions for ending the war.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that the envoy’s visit was seen in Israel as “very significant.”
But later on Sunday, the Israeli official signaled that pursuit of a deal would be pointless, threatening more force: “An understanding is emerging that Hamas is not interested in a deal and therefore the prime minister is pushing to release the hostages while pressing for military defeat.”
“STRATEGIC CLARITY”
What a “military defeat” might mean, however, is up for debate within the Israeli leadership. Some Israeli officials have suggested that Israel might declare it was annexing parts of Gaza as a means to pressure the Palestinian terrorist group, which has ruled the enclave for nearly two decades.
Others, like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir want to see Israel impose military rule in Gaza before annexing it and re-establishing the Jewish settlements Israel evicted 20 years ago.
The Israeli military, which has pushed back at such ideas throughout the war, was expected on Tuesday to present alternatives that include extending into areas of Gaza where it has not yet operated, according to two defense officials.
While some in the political leadership are pushing for expanding the offensive, the military is concerned that doing so will endanger the 20 hostages who are still alive, the officials said.
Israeli Army Radio reported on Monday that military chief Eyal Zamir has become increasingly frustrated with what he describes as a lack of strategic clarity by the political leadership, concerned about being dragged into a war of attrition with Hamas terrorists.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declined to comment on the report but said that the military has plans in store.
“We have different ways to fight the terror organization, and that’s what the army does,” Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said.
On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which included a call on Hamas to hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has repeatedly said it won’t lay down arms. But it has told mediators it was willing to quit governance in Gaza for a non-partisan ruling body, according to three Hamas officials.
It insists that the post-war Gaza arrangement must be agreed upon among the Palestinians themselves and not dictated by foreign powers.
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar suggested on Monday that the gaps were still too wide to bridge.
“We would like to have all our hostages back. We would like to see the end of this war. We always prefer to get there by diplomatic means, if possible. But of course, the big question is, what will be the conditions for the end of the war?” he told journalists in Jerusalem.