Trump warns of decision time as Iran prepares nuclear counter-proposal

by Shaun Tandon and Danny Kemp with Ramin Khanizadeh in Tehran

President Donald Trump said Monday that new US-Iran talks this week could make clear if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action, as Tehran readies a counter-proposal on a potential agreement.

Trump spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said the US leader informed that he had made a "reasonable offer" to Iran.

Netanyahu has threatened to strike the nuclear sites of Iran, whose cleric-run government he sees as Israel's existential enemy, but Trump has said he has held him back.

"We're trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death," Trump told reporters after what he described as a positive call with Netanyahu.

"But it might not work out that way. We'll soon find out," Trump said.

Trump said the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday.

In a key sticking point, Iran has insisted on the right to enrich uranium at low levels for civilian use -- as allowed under a 2015 deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama which Trump tore up in his first White House term.

"They seek enrichment. They can't have enrichment," Trump said.

"So far, they're not there. I hate to say that because the alternative is a very, very dire one," he said.

"But they're not there. They have given us their thoughts on the deal and I said, it's just not acceptable."

- 'Reasonable, logical and balanced' -

Iran and the United States last held talks on May 31, after which Iran said it had received "elements" of a US proposal.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said the text contained "ambiguities."

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei criticized the US proposal as "lacking elements" reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman, without providing further details.

"We will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side through Oman once it is finalised," Baqaei told a press briefing.

"It is a proposal that is reasonable, logical and balanced, and we strongly recommend that the American side value this opportunity."

Also on Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told state news agency IRNA that Iran's response "is a framework for agreement."

"If we reach an understanding on this framework in principle, further extensive negotiations will begin on its details," he added.

Iran's parliament speaker has said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions -- a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.

Israel has hit Iran directly, impeding its air defenses, since the October 7, 2023 deadly attacks by Tehran-sponsored Hamas which also triggered its Gaza offensive.

Iran's top security body, however, warned Monday that it had intelligence on Israeli nuclear facilities and could carry out counterattacks should Israel strike.

- IAEA tension -

Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday began a Board of Governors meeting in Vienna that will last until Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear activities among other topics.

"I call upon Iran urgently to cooperate fully and effectively with the International Atomic Energy Agency," said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in his opening speech.

"Unless and until Iran assists the agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful," he added.

Iran has warned European powers of counter-measures to reduce cooperation with the IAEA if European powers back a draft resolution that accuses Tehran of non-compliance.