The White House said the United States continues to reject uranium enrichment in Iran, and reiterated that US President Donald Trump did not agree with a “list of wishes” submitted by Iran.
President Trump’s press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, suggested Wednesday that Iran’s 10-point proposal for a cease-fire in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran is different from the proposal announced by Tehran.
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Under the plan, the United States would accept Iran’s right to enrich uranium, as well as sanctions relief and a permanent halt to attacks on Iran.
“The president’s red line remains unchanged: the end of wealthy Iranians in Iran,” Levitt said.
Domestic uranium enrichment has been a major sticking point in previous negotiations between Iran and the United States.
Although Iran says it does not seek nuclear weapons, it insists on enriching its own uranium as a national right.
However, the Trump administration is pushing for the complete elimination of Iran’s nuclear program.
After more than 38 days of war, the U.S. and Iranian governments announced a two-week ceasefire that would see the U.S. halt its attacks and Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although the closure of the Strait at the beginning of the conflict sent energy prices soaring.
Levitt said Iran’s original 10-point proposal was “literally thrown in the trash” by the Trump campaign, but Iran later submitted amendments.
“The idea that President Trump would accept Iran’s wish list as a deal is completely ridiculous,” she said.
“The president will only enter into agreements that are in the best interest of the United States.”
President Trump said late Tuesday that Iran’s offer was a “viable basis for negotiations.”
Levitt said Trump and his aides will focus on talks with Iran over the next two weeks “as long as the Strait of Hormuz opens without restrictions or delays.”
He confirmed that the first round of negotiations would take place on Saturday in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and that the U.S. team would be led by Vice President J.D. Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
But later on Wednesday, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf cast doubt on the fate of the talks.
He said the United States and Israel have already violated the ceasefire by continuing the war in Lebanon, failing to prevent drones from entering Iranian airspace, and denying Iran the right to enrich uranium.
“Now, even before negotiations have begun, the very ‘viable basis for negotiations’ has been openly and clearly violated. In these circumstances, a bilateral ceasefire and negotiations are irrational,” Ghalibaf wrote in X.
Mr. Levitt echoed the Pentagon’s claim of victory over Iran, saying that Iran also won the war.
A White House spokesperson said, “Thanks to the remarkable success of Operation Epic Fury, their navy, missiles, defense industrial base, and their aspirations and plans to build nuclear bombs domestically are no longer allowed and can no longer occur.”
The Trump administration said the U.S. and Israeli attacks destroyed most of Iran’s military capabilities, but Iran continued to fire missiles and drones against Israel and the entire region throughout the conflict.
The US government maintains that the main reason for the war was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but President Trump had repeatedly said for eight months before the attack that the June 2025 US attack had “annihilated” Iran’s nuclear program.
