Iran says its nuclear program must remain untouched in final deal

The sites, buried beneath Mount Kolang Gaz La, have not been accessed by international inspectors.

"The creation of a security perimeter around deeply buried sites associated with uranium enrichment suggests that Iran is increasingly worried about an individual or group seeking to enter the tunnel complexes undetected," the report wrote. "Whether this type of protective barrier would be effective against a well-armed and resourced adversary is unclear."

The report, based on satellite imagery from March, shows wall panels and road grading forming a perimeter that connects with the Natanz facility. One of the complexes is new and deeply buried, likely intended to replace a centrifuge assembly plant destroyed at Natanz in 2020. The other dates back to 2007 and appears to be undergoing upgrades.

David Albright, the institute's president, said the new perimeter suggested that the tunnel complexes, under construction beneath Mt. Kolang Gaz La for several years, could become operational relatively soon.

The complexes could be used to store Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium or undeclared nuclear materials, and advanced centrifuges that could quickly purify enough uranium for a bomb, Albright was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The ongoing construction appears to underscore Tehran’s rejection of demands that nuclear talks with the US lead to the full dismantlement of its program, Reuters reported. Iran has maintained it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Israel has not ruled out military action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists any deal must result in the complete dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Iran is constructing a new security perimeter around two underground tunnel complexes near its Natanz nuclear site, according to a report by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) released Wednesday.

The sites, buried beneath Mount Kolang Gaz La, have not been accessed by international inspectors.

"The creation of a security perimeter around deeply buried sites associated with uranium enrichment suggests that Iran is increasingly worried about an individual or group seeking to enter the tunnel complexes undetected," the report wrote.

"Whether this type of protective barrier would be effective against a well-armed and resourced adversary is unclear," it added.

The report, based on satellite imagery from March, shows wall panels and road grading forming a perimeter that connects with the Natanz facility. One of the complexes is new and deeply buried, likely intended to replace a centrifuge assembly plant destroyed at Natanz in 2020. The other dates back to 2007 and appears to be undergoing upgrades.

ISIS said neither site has been declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency, potentially violating Iran’s safeguards agreement.

The ongoing construction appears to underscore Tehran’s rejection of demands that nuclear talks with the US lead to the full dismantlement of its program, Reuters reported. Iran has maintained it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Israel has not ruled out military action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists any deal must result in the complete dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

The Trump administration risks falling into a familiar pattern of concessions and extended negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, potentially repeating the missteps of the Obama and Biden administrations, according to an opinion piece published by Dispatch.

Despite President Trump's tough rhetoric and military threats, his Iran strategy risks repeating past administrations' mistakes of softening demands, wrote Jonathan Ruhe, foreign policy director at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Drawing parallels to the Obama era, Ruhe said that initial strong demands for Iran to dismantle its nuclear program and to accept intrusive inspections eventually gave way during the negotiations that led to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The author added that Iran is exploiting the US willingness to prioritize diplomacy, using it as leverage to extract concessions and undermine American military threats.

Ruhe argues that the Trump team appears to be falling into the same trap, with Iran employing familiar tactics of seeking drawn-out indirect talks and interim arrangements while insisting on US guarantees and rejecting demands that contravene Khamenei's red lines.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio ruled out allowing any Iranian uranium enrichment, while Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would stumble if US demands stray from a sole focus on nuclear weapons.

"If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one, and that is they import enriched material," US secretary of state Marco Rubio said in an interview with The Free Press podcast.

"There’s a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program if they want one. But if they insist on enriching, then they will be the only country in the world that doesn’t have a 'weapons program,' quote-unquote, but is enriching. And so I think that’s problematic."

The UN nuclear watchdog said last month that Iran is only non-nuclear armed state enriching uranium to 60%. Several countries which do not possess nuclear weapons, including Japan, Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands, enrich uranium at lower levels.

Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and has said its nuclear program is peaceful and marks a national scientific accomplishment. Israel, the United States and other Western countries question Tehran's intentions.

The United Nations permits uranium enrichment as part of peaceful nuclear technology and Iran is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

Iranian officialdom has repeatedly said Iran's enrichment is not up for discussion.

"If America’s only demand is that Iran not possess nuclear weapons, that demand is attainable and we can meet it," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

"But if (Washington) makes impractical and unreasonable demands, it’s natural that we will run into problems."

Araghchi's hosts, nuclear-armed US rival China, appeared to confirm its alignment with Iran's position while blessing the talks with Washington.

"China appreciates Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, respects Iran's right to peacefully use nuclear energy and supports Iran in conducting dialogue with all parties including the United States to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests through consultation and negotiation, "Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

'Out of compliance'

Calling Iran "nuclear-ambitious", Rubio criticized a 2015 international nuclear deal from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in his first term and vowed to seek more permanent curbs on Iran's nuclear activity.

"The previous deal was bad for a number of reasons. It gave Iran immediate and full sanctions relief in exchange for enrichment capabilities that at any point could be weaponized in the future," Rubio said.

"They got to keep that permanently, they got to keep the sanctions relief permanently, and they only had to live by the enrichment limitations for a defined period of time."

Iran and the United States are due to hold a third round of indirect nuclear talks on Saturday in Rome after both sides described the previous two rounds as constructive.

Last week, Rubio warned that Iran is nearing a nuclear weapons capability and urged European allies to consider reimposing UN sanctions on Iran under the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism.

Iran has accumulated nearly 300 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Fellow signatories Germany, France and the United Kingdom can use their authority under the agreement to reimpose UN sanctions.

The deal’s final sunset clause is set to expire in October.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the United States is not seeking war with Iran and would prefer to resolve the nuclear issue through negotiation, according to comments made on the Honestly podcast from The Free Press.

“We do not want a war. We do not want to see war,” Rubio said. “This is not a president that campaigned on starting wars.”

Speaking about President Donald Trump's administration’s stance on Iran’s nuclear program, Rubio said, “Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon and he [the president] reserves every right to prevent that from happening, but he would prefer it not happen. He would prefer that there not be a need to resort to military force, either by us or anybody else. He would prefer that it’d be something that we can negotiate.”