US denies reported Iranian offer to halt enrichment for 3 years, not attack Israel with ballistic missiles

A senior US official flatly denies an unsourced report in Iran International claiming that Iran presented a proposal during the previous round of nuclear talks in which it agreed to halt nuclear enrichment for three years and commit to not using its ballistic missiles to attack Israel.

Asked to confirm the report, the senior US official calls it, “Completely false.”

According to Iran International, US special envoy Steve Witkoff quickly rejected the series of Iranian concessions as not going nearly far enough and refused to even negotiate on the proposal further. After the three-year halt on uranium enrichment, the report says the Iranian proposal offered to subsequently limit enrichment to 3.67 percent. Already enriched uranium would be diluted under American supervision or transferred to a third country, preferably Russia, the purported proposal stated.

While the US has insisted at times on Iran giving up its ballistic missiles, the report says the proposal envisions Iran keeping them while committing to only using them in a defensive posture, rather than for attacking Israel.

The proposal also reportedly included an Iranian commitment not to publicly cast doubt on Israel’s right to exist in addition to avoiding the advancement of the Palestinian national cause through military means — an apparent reference to support for Hamas and Hezbollah.

The sale of Iran’s oil would be conducted through Swiss mediation and include a 5% commission for the United States, the proposal said.