Iran has rejected a U.S. demand to halt uranium enrichment ahead of a new round of nuclear talks set for Saturday in Oman. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran must stop all enrichment and import only low-level uranium for civilian use.
“Zero enrichment is unacceptable,” a senior Iranian official close to the negotiating team said Wednesday.
The talks come as Iran accelerates enrichment to 60% purity, nearing weapons-grade levels, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“There’s a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program if they want one,” Rubio told the “Honestly with Bari Weiss” podcast.
“But if they insist on enriching, then they’ll be the only country in the world without a weapons program doing so. That’s problematic.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a maximum pressure campaign on Tehran, combining sweeping sanctions with warnings of potential military action.
Iran maintains its program is peaceful and denies any pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Last week, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff initially said Iran didn’t need to enrich beyond 3.67%, then clarified that all enrichment must stop and be eliminated.
Rubio echoed that on Tuesday, saying Iran could import enriched material like other countries with peaceful nuclear programs.
Western officials argue there is no civilian justification for 60% enrichment.
Only states that have built weapons have enriched to that level.
The outcome of Saturday’s talks remains uncertain. Both sides are holding firm.
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The Netherlands has returned a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture to Egypt, after an investigation confirmed the artefact had been looted and unlawfully removed from the country.
Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine’s energy system early on Saturday (7 January), hitting power generation and distribution facilities with more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles, Ukrainian officials have said.
Storm Leonardo hit Spain and Portugal on Tuesday, forcing more than 11,000 people from their homes, as a man in Portugal died after his car was swept away by floodwaters and a second body was found in Malaga.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 7th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Storm Leonardo hit Spain and Portugal on Tuesday, forcing more than 11,000 people from their homes, as a man in Portugal died after his car was swept away by floodwaters and a second body was found in Malaga.
An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shiite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than a decade.
Alphabet is emerging as a frontrunner in the global artificial intelligence race, as analysts and executives say Google has overtaken OpenAI, marking a sharp reversal from a year ago when the company was widely seen as lagging.
Using art as a quiet alarm, a new exhibition in Baku is drawing attention to endangered wildlife and the need for environmental responsibility.
Agreements signed by the United States, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Washington on 5 February show that the United States is changing how it secures access to strategic raw materials.
Azerbaijan has summoned Russia’s ambassador in Baku and issued a formal protest note over remarks by Russian lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
France’s “absolute priority” remains the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday (5 February) during talks with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus, as Paris reassesses its counter-terrorism strategy.
Georgia and the United States have held a rare high-level meeting in Washington, reopening cautious discussion about relations after years of political stagnation.
Using art as a quiet alarm, a new exhibition in Baku is drawing attention to endangered wildlife and the need for environmental responsibility.
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