Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter.
I'm RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi. In this edition, I'm looking at how Iran is pushing to maintain its uranium enrichment capabilities and what analysts say this means for nuclear talks moving forward.
What You Need To Know
• Tehran Preparing Counterproposal: Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Iran's supreme leader, said this week that Iran was preparing a counterproposal after the Iranian leader charged that Washington's proposal for a nuclear agreement went against national interests. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also insisted Iran will not abandon uranium enrichment.
• Arrests Made As Truck Drivers' Strike Continues: At least 40 people, including drivers and supporters, have been arrested as a nationwide truck drivers' strike in Iran enters its third week, spreading to at least 163 cities, according to the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. The strike began on May 22 with truck drivers protesting low wages, high insurance costs, and a planned fuel price hike.
• Iranians Barred From Entering US: President Donald Trump has reinstated a travel ban that includes Iran among 12 countries facing full entry restrictions to the United States. Taking effect on June 9, the ban suspends visa issuance for Iranian nationals, citing national security risks and insufficient vetting procedures. The decision echoes Trump's 2017 "Muslim ban" and has sparked criticism from civil rights groups and Iranian-American organizations -- including those opposed to the Islamic republic -- who argue the policy unfairly targets ordinary Iranians and further separates families already strained by political tensions.
The Big Issue
Doubling Down On Enrichment
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said on June 4 that enrichment is a vital component of Iran's nuclear capabilities.
This came after Trump asserted that under a potential agreement with Iran, "we will not allow any enrichment of uranium."
Khamenei said the US proposal, which has been under review since last month when Omani mediators delivered it to Tehran, undermines the principle of "we can do it ourselves," which he described as a pillar of national independence.
Shamkhani, a former national-security chief who serves as Khamenei's top political adviser, said later the US proposal makes no mention of lifting sanctions.
"We are now preparing our counterproposal," he said, insisting Tehran will resist US attempts to eliminate its nuclear program or abandon enrichment.
Why It Matters: Iran and the United States have held five rounds of negotiations aimed at curbing Tehran's rapidly expanding nuclear program in return for relief from sanctions.
Sanctions have severely weakened Iran's economy by slashing oil revenues, devaluing its currency, and isolating it from global markets while also fueling domestic hardship, political hard-lining, and a shift toward alliances with the likes of Russia and China.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week said in its quarterly report that Iran has significantly increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, reaching 408.6 kilograms enriched up to 60 percent -- well above the 2015 nuclear deal limit of 3.67 percent.
The UN nuclear watchdog also criticized Iran for inadequate cooperation, particularly its failure to explain nuclear traces at undeclared sites.
These findings come ahead of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, 23 Council and potentially reinstating UN sanctions.
Iran, meanwhile, has accused Western countries of politicizing the agency and has warned the IAEA board against taking any action targeting Tehran.
What's Being Said: Damon Golriz, a lecturer at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, says the hard-line public positions adopted by Trump and Khamenei are mostly aimed at placating critics of a potential agreement.
He told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that "there is political will on both sides" to reach a deal.
"It makes sense for Iran not to want to easily abandon its nuclear fuel cycle, which took some 20 years to acquire," Golriz said.
However, Shahin Modarres, an Iranian security expert based in Rome, says Khamenei is gambling with a potential war.
Modarres told Radio Farda the Iranian leader's assessment is that backing down from his hard-line stance and making too many concessions to the United States would alienate the Islamic republic's core support base and undermine the stability of the clerical establishment. He added that Khamenei is also counting on Trump's reluctance to engage in a large-scale war to eventually lead him to drop his maximalist demands.
"With this type of thinking, Khamenei is forcing war on people…and further isolating the country," he said.
Expert Opinion: "I believe the Islamic republic started the nuclear program with the aim of developing a nuclear weapon for deterrence. I think enrichment has never been and will never be worthwhile. One reason why the world has doubts about the Islamic republic's nuclear program is that it is not economically justifiable," Behruz Bayat, a nuclear physicist, told Radio Farda.
That's all from me for now.
Until next time,
Kian Sharifi
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