Al Arabiya: Iran wants to transfer enriched uranium to Russia as part of a peace deal with the US

As part of a peace deal with the United States, Iran has agreed to freeze its nuclear program, but not eliminate it. The country wants to transfer its enriched uranium to Russia instead of the United States.

Al Arabiya writes about this.

The media cites a leak of Iranian proposals that Pakistan, acting as a negotiator in the peace process, transmitted to the United States on May 17.

According to Al Arabiya, Iran is demanding a long, multi-stage ceasefire with political wording that would allow Tehran to "save face".

Iran proposes to gradually open the Strait of Hormuz with the participation of Pakistan and Oman as guarantors. Iran is ready to refuse compensation for damages caused by US and Israeli attacks, but wants economic concessions.

The US, for its part, has agreed to lift oil sanctions on Iran, Tasnim claims. Al Arabiya sources declined to comment on the information.

An Iranian source said the US had shown flexibility by allowing Iran to continue limited peaceful nuclear activities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. At the same time, Washington agreed to unfreeze only a quarter of Iranian assets according to a phased schedule. The media source added that Tehran had demanded that Washington reconsider both positions.

As for the most controversial issues, such as the nuclear program and uranium enrichment, they were postponed to subsequent rounds of negotiations.

A US official told Axios that the new proposal contained minor improvements over the previous one, but that it was not enough for a peace deal.

War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US

On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.

Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries where US bases are located, and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels per day.

On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.

On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran reported that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day, Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.

On April 21, Trump tweeted that he had extended the ceasefire with Iran until the Iranians submitted their proposals and concluded discussions. And on May 1, Axios reported, citing a letter from Trump to House Speaker Mike Johnson, that Trump considered the war over.

Despite this, on May 8, Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by attacking two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and striking civilian areas. But there is no talk of a breakdown yet.

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