Iran’s long trail of deception fuels skepticism over new nuclear deal as talks continue

Saturday's talks successful Rome betwixt the Trump medication and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the rogue regime’s nonaccomplishment to dismantle its illicit atomic weapons programme person raised pressing questions astir whether Tehran volition adhere to a caller deal.

Speaking connected "The Story with Martha MacCallum," retired Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News elder strategical analyst, said Iran is reintroducing its "playbook" that [was] utilized to unafraid the JCPOA from Obama and termed its strategy a "bold-faced lie" that led to the "disastrous 2015" agreement.

Keane said Iran is repackaging the prevarication that it volition trim highly enriched uranium down to a debased percent and not usage it for a atomic weapon. Instead, it volition employment it for civilian commercialized atomic power. Kean added that the Iranians "think the Trump medication is going to bargain this. After all, successful 2018, Trump pulled retired of that precise deal."

In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the ceremonial name for the 2015 atomic woody brokered by the Obama administration, because, helium argued, it failed to halt Iran’s ambitions to conception an atomic bomb. 

AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN-IRAN TALKS, NEW REPORT SAYS IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT RISES TO 'EXTREME DANGER'

Iran's ultimate leader, Ali Khamenei, and President Donald Trump (West Asia News Agency, Reuters; Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital sent a elaborate property query to the State Department regarding the Islamic Republic’s past of cheating and lying erstwhile dealing with its erstwhile pledges to not physique a atomic weapon.

A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital, "This, on with galore different issues, volition beryllium decided astatine the negotiating table. The president has been clear: Iran cannot person a atomic limb oregon enrichment program. As we proceed to talk, we expect to refine a model and timetable for moving towards a woody that achieves the president’s objectives peacefully."

Speaking Friday, President Trump told reporters, "I'm for stopping Iran precise simply from having a atomic weapon. They can't person a atomic weapon."

Enrichment of uranium is the cardinal process that enables Iran’s authorities to beforehand its enactment connected a deliverable atomic weapon. 

"Iran’s enrichment is simply a real, accepted matter," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday. "We are acceptable to physique assurance successful effect to imaginable concerns, but the contented of enrichment is non-negotiable."
 

Iran's ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, views Iranian atomic achievements connected June 11. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Reuters)

Mark Wallace, the CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and a erstwhile U.N. ambassador to the United Nations nether President George W. Bush, told Fox News Digital, "Under the Bush administration, zero enrichment was enshrined successful U.N. Security Council resolutions. The Obama medication changed that position, allowing enrichment up to 3.67%, and this paved the mode for the failed JCPOA that has allowed Iran to extort the planetary assemblage ever since."

The Obama administration's concession to Iran to licence it to enrich uranium to 3.67% has created caller problems for Trump to halt Tehran's thrust to physique a weapon. Iran has exploited the close to enrich uranium to velocity up its weapons program. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency announced in February that Iran has produced dramatically much uranium that tin beryllium utilized successful six atomic bombs and stressed that Tehran has made nary advancement connected resolving outstanding issues.

Iran's medium-range ballistic rocket Hayber aft a motorboat during a promotional programme organized with the information of high-ranking subject officials successful Tehran, Iran, May 7, 2023.  (Iranian Defense Ministry/Hanodut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Trump said successful precocious March helium would motorboat subject strikes against Iran if it failed to hold to his demands for a caller atomic pact.

Prior to Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, Fox News Digital reported in 2017 that Iran tried to get illicit exertion that could beryllium utilized for subject atomic and ballistic rocket programs, raising questions astir a imaginable usurpation of the 2015 statement intended to halt Tehran’s thrust to go an atomic equipped power, according to 3 German quality reports.

TRUMP HAS A TIMELINE IN MIND FOR IRAN NUKE DEAL, TAPS ISRAEL TO LEAD ANY POTENTIAL MILITARY ACTION

The Trump medication has outlined a two-month model to scope a woody with Iran, John Hannah, a senior chap astatine JINSA, said during a briefing astir Iran’s atomic weapons programme Thursday.

Hannah served successful elder advisory roles with erstwhile Vice President Dick Cheney and was intimately progressive successful processing U.S. strategy toward talks with Iran implicit Afghanistan, Iraq and the Islamic Republic’s atomic programme passim President George W. Bush’s 2 presumption successful the White House.  

Traditionally, subject unit has influenced the Islamic Republic of Iran’s recalcitrant and anti-American leaders to marque concessions. The U.S. penetration of Iraq successful 2003 reportedly compelled the clerical regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to concisely intermission his country’s work on atomic weapons.  

Khamenei feared American subject enactment astatine the time.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi earlier negotiations with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff successful Muscat, Oman, April 12, 2025.  (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)

Hannah said Trump’s "military menace is what brought Supreme Leader Khamenei to the table" due to the fact that it "put his ain authorities astatine risk." Hannah outlined what dismantlement "with a superior D" would mean for Iran. He said "all of their enriched uranium leaves the country," and the centrifuges are destroyed and taken retired of the country. Hannah said Iran’s secretive underground Fordow atomic substance enrichment works and Natanz atomic tract were wherever Iran was caught digging tunnels successful the mountains.

Hannah's organization, JINSA, released an infographic Wednesday that focused successful connected Trump medication officials' comments connected verification and dismantlement.

According to a Reuters report, a elder Iranian authoritative said Friday that Iran told the United States successful talks past week it was acceptable to judge immoderate limits connected its uranium enrichment but needed watertight guarantees President Donald Trump would not again ditch a atomic pact.

Tehran's reddish lines "mandated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei" could not beryllium compromised successful the talks, the authoritative told Reuters, describing Iran's negotiating presumption connected information of anonymity.

He said those reddish lines meant Iran would ne'er hold to dismantle its centrifuges for enriching uranium, halt enrichment altogether oregon trim the magnitude of enriched uranium it stores to a level beneath the level it agreed successful the 2015 woody that Trump abandoned.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks aft President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid to make a U.S. sovereign wealthiness fun, successful the Oval Office of the White House Feb. 3, 2025, successful Washington, D.C.  (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

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It would besides not negociate implicit its rocket program, which Tehran views arsenic extracurricular the scope of immoderate atomic deal.

Top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff, successful a station connected X connected Tuesday, said Iran indispensable "stop and destruct its atomic enrichment" to scope a woody with Washington.

Reuters contributed to this report.