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Iran to Unveil Nuclear Counteroffer to US as IAEA Warns It ‘Can’t Ignore’ Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran said on Monday that it would soon submit a new proposal for a nuclear deal with the United States via Oman, as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog raised concerns over Tehran’s ongoing violations of and lack of compliance with international nuclear standards.
Speaking at a press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced that the Islamist regime will soon present its own nuclear proposal after rejecting a previous offer from Washington.
“We strongly recommend the American side not to waste this opportunity — it’s in their own interest to take it seriously,” the Iranian diplomat said.
With a sixth round of nuclear talks still uncertain, Baghaei stressed that uranium enrichment remains a “strategic necessity” for Iran’s nuclear industry and is crucial to the country’s national interests.
Commenting on the White House’s demand that Tehran reduce uranium enrichment down to zero, he said Iran’s stance serves as a deterrent “against excessive foreign demands” and “pressures that go beyond legal and international norms.”
“It cannot be said in any way that every country that engages in enrichment necessarily has a weapons program,” the Iranian diplomat said. “Currently, many countries, including some US allies, are engaged in enrichment but do not have any military or weapons programs.”
Last week, Iranian officials condemned Washington’s latest nuclear proposal as “unprofessional and untechnical,” criticizing it for its alleged failure to address sanctions relief — a key demand for Tehran under any deal with the US.
“Iran will never relinquish its natural rights,” Ali Shamkhnai, political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview on Wednesday.
Washington’s draft proposal for a new nuclear deal was delivered by Omani officials — who have been mediating negotiations between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff — during last month’s talks in Rome.
After five rounds of talks, diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results as both adversaries clash over Iran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition that US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected.
Meanwhile, in its latest report on Iranian nuclear violations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, warned that the country’s continued accumulation of highly enriched uranium nearing weapons-grade levels poses a serious concern that cannot be ignored.
“Uranium enrichment per se is not a forbidden activity, which is something my Iranian counterparts always tell me,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said at a press conference following the agency’s Board of Governors opening meeting in Vienna on Monday.
“At the same time, when you accumulate and continue to accumulate, and you are the only country in the world doing this at a level very, very close to what is needed for a nuclear explosive device, then we cannot ignore it,” Grossi continued.
“There is no medical or civilian use for it. That is why it is important for us.”
The IAEA’s latest report reveals that, alongside numerous other violations, Iran has previously conducted multiple implosion tests — a crucial military capability for developing an atomic bomb.
At Monday’s press conference, Grossi also discussed a draft resolution from Western powers condemning Iran’s nuclear non-compliance.
He stressed that the resolution — put forward by the US, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — represents the agency’s technical oversight responsibilities, not a political move to pressure Tehran.
However, Iran has strongly rejected the measure, accusing the agency of political bias and of advancing American interests.
Grossi also referenced the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which temporarily limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, explaining that even if the agreement were reinstated, it would no longer be sufficient to address the expanded scope and complexity of the country’s current nuclear activities.
“The JCPOA was designed to be applied to a very specific type of Iran program, which is completely different now,” he said. “Even if you wanted to revive it, it would not be enough because now they have new technologies.”
“We cannot wait for negotiations. We are an independent technical body. But if diplomacy succeeds, it will help reinforce cooperation,” Grossi continued.
The post Iran to Unveil Nuclear Counteroffer to US as IAEA Warns It ‘Can’t Ignore’ Tehran’s Uranium Enrichment first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.