A senior Iranian official has announced that Tehran is drafting a counter-proposal to the latest U.S. offer on its nuclear program, rejecting the American plan as insufficient and “clumsy.”
The statement came as President Donald Trump warned time is running out for Iran to make a decision regarding its nuclear ambitions, revealing that Russian President Vladimir Putin may join the negotiations.
Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV that the U.S. offer fails to address a primary demand, which is the lifting of sanctions.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Iran’s foreign ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
The renewed push on negotiations underscores the urgency. While the U.S. seeks to curb Iran’s uranium enrichment, Tehran is refusing to scale back without economic concessions. With Russia possibly entering the fray, the geopolitical stakes are rising in a region already mired in instability. Trump’s framing of Iran’s delay as deliberate “slow walking” adds new pressure to a rapidly narrowing diplomatic window. Iran’s insistence on its “natural rights” could complicate efforts to revive a negotiated solution.
What to Know
Ali Shamkhani criticized the U.S. proposal as poorly constructed and lacking critical elements. He said Iran was already working on a new response. “After receiving the American proposal regarding the Iranian nuclear program, we are now preparing our new counter-proposal,” he stated. Shamkhani underscored that the absence of sanctions relief rendered the U.S. plan unacceptable. He called the omission a “fundamental” failure and reaffirmed Iran’s position that it would never give up uranium enrichment, a key component of its nuclear program.
‘Time Running Out’
Meanwhile, Trump criticized Tehran for what he described as deliberate stalling. Writing on social media, he said, “It is my opinion that Iran has been slow walking their decision on this very important matter. We will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time.” Trump also revealed that Putin could play a role in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, following an extended phone call between the two leaders. “We also discussed Iran, and the fact that time is running out on Iran’s decision pertaining to nuclear weapons, which must be made quickly,” Trump stated.