Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian levelled a sharp rebuke at Washington’s negotiating posture, accusing the U.S. of demanding that Tehran hand over its entire enriched uranium stockpile in exchange for a three-month pause in impending U.N. sanctions. Speaking to reporters in New York before departing for Tehran, Pezeshkian described the demand as “by no means acceptable,” framing it as a coercive trap rather than a serious compromise.
According to Pezeshkian, the U.S. proposal was designed to delay the snap-back of sanctions under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, but only if Iran surrendered all enriched uranium under its control. He cautioned that succumbing to such terms would leave Iran vulnerable to renewed pressure every few months, likening it to a “noose around our neck.”
The allegations emerge at a tense moment, with the U.N. Security Council having recently declined a Russian-Chinese effort to postpone the reinstatement of nuclear sanctions. Pezeshkian used his remarks to project both defiance and resolve: he emphasized that Iran would rather face the snap-back than accept demands it considers untenable.
Western diplomats have not publicly confirmed that the U.S. made this specific demand, but they have long insisted that Iranian concessions on enriched uranium are central to any deal.
