Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday evening that Washington's nuclear demands are currently unacceptable, according to i24NEWS. He added that the emerging US-Iran memorandum of understanding will declare an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday evening that Washington's nuclear demands are currently unacceptable to Tehran, according to i24NEWS. The remark marks the first explicit Iranian pushback on the nuclear terms since the diplomatic track accelerated earlier Wednesday, when President Trump announced that agreement had been reached on enriched uranium, describing the material as 'buried under a mountain.' Araghchi's qualification suggests that the nuclear component — deferred to a second stage in the emerging memorandum of understanding (MoU) — remains a point of friction, even as broader negotiations advance.
Araghchi's statement arrives hours after the seventh version of this story was published at 22:31 Jerusalem. In that version, he confirmed the MoU covers all fronts, including a Lebanese ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, with digital signing possible within days. Earlier versions reported the MoU as a less-than-two-page, 14-point text, with the nuclear issue postponed to a 60-day second phase. Over the thread, corroboration has moved from single-source Iranian reports to multi-outlet coverage including i24NEWS and N12, while the scope of the deal has expanded from a narrow diplomatic framework to one encompassing regional security arrangements.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, a senior US official said the US expects to sign a deal within days and will receive all of Iran's enriched uranium. President Trump later confirmed that agreement on the nuclear material had been reached. Separately, background items in The Zioneer's broader record — including an estimate of an 85% chance of a deal and reported Israeli assessments that the current Iran round is over — frame the negotiation as in its final stages.
What remains unclear is which specific US nuclear demands Araghchi considers unacceptable. His language leaves the scope of disagreement undefined, and it is not yet known whether the reported US requirement that all enriched uranium be removed from Iran is among the sticking points. The digital signing of the MoU has not yet occurred, and no official text has been released.
8 developments
- StrongAraghchi: Nuclear issue deferred to final phase, MOU covers end of war on all fronts including Lebanon
- DevelopingIran's Araghchi: no deal will satisfy one side 100%
- StrongIran's FM Araghchi: compensation demand will be met with retaliation
- DevelopingIran's foreign minister dismisses Trump's threats, says pressure backfires
Source and signal
- Internal intake