Iran and US views on sanctions relief differ, senior Iranian official tells Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran and the United States have differing views over the scope and mechanism to lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that new talks were planned in early March.

The official said Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, diluting the purity of its HEU and a regional consortium for enriching uranium, but in return Iran's right to "peaceful nuclear enrichment" must be recognised.

"The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists," the official said.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while US President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.

The senior official said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources but US companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.

Meanwhile, Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes fade for a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials on both sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say.

Iran’s Gulf neighbours and its enemy Israel now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, these sources say, with Washington building up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Two Israeli officials told Reuters they believe the gaps between Washington and Tehran are unbridgeable and that the chances of a near‑term military escalation are high.

Some regional officials say Tehran is dangerously miscalculating by holding out for concessions, with US President Donald Trump boxed in by his own military buildup - unable to scale it back without losing face if there is no firm commitment from Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.

"Both sides are sticking to their guns," said Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat and Iran specialist, adding that nothing meaningful can emerge "unless the U.S. and Iran walk back from their red lines - which I don't think they will."

"What Trump can't do is assemble all this military, and then come back with a 'so‑so' deal and pull out the military. I think he thinks he'll lose face," he said. "If he attacks, it's going to get ugly quickly."