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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Bangladesh clinched two World Bank credits worth $850 million on Wednesday—$650 million to overhaul Chittagong’s Bay Terminal and $200 million to strengthen social protection—aiming to cut shipping costs, spur jobs and aid 4.5 million vulnerable citizens.
China has eased foreign investment restrictions by cutting the number of prohibited or limited sectors in its updated 2025 "negative list," as Beijing seeks to boost investor confidence amid growing economic pressures and escalating U.S. tariffs.
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Japan’s top trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa is set to visit the U.S. for a second round of tariff talks next week, as Tokyo presses Washington to reconsider duties on cars and steel amid firm resistance from the Trump administration.
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The Philippines faces the lightest blow from Washington’s new tariff regime—just 17 % on average and with a third of its exports exempt—positioning Manila to lure trade and investment diverted from harder-hit neighbours, a Philippine Institute for Development Studies report says.
Bangladesh clinched two World Bank credits worth $850 million on Wednesday—$650 million to overhaul Chittagong’s Bay Terminal and $200 million to strengthen social protection—aiming to cut shipping costs, spur jobs and aid 4.5 million vulnerable citizens.
China has eased foreign investment restrictions by cutting the number of prohibited or limited sectors in its updated 2025 "negative list," as Beijing seeks to boost investor confidence amid growing economic pressures and escalating U.S. tariffs.
India moved swiftly to scale back its diplomatic ties with Pakistan on Wednesday, a day after a deadly militant attack in Kashmir killed 26 tourists, marking the country’s worst civilian massacre in nearly 20 years and escalating tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Japan’s top trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa is set to visit the U.S. for a second round of tariff talks next week, as Tokyo presses Washington to reconsider duties on cars and steel amid firm resistance from the Trump administration.
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