Iran will soon deliver a counterproposal to the U.S. through Oman in response to what it called an "unacceptable" U.S. offer for a nuclear agreement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday.
The spokesperson also called on the international community to force nuclear disarmament upon Israel, Iran's longstanding foe, which Tehran says is trying to thwart the nuclear negotiations.
"The U.S. proposal is not acceptable to us. It was not the result of previous rounds of negotiations. We will present our own proposal to the other side via Oman after it is finalized. This proposal is reasonable, logical, and balanced," Baghaei said.
"We must ensure before the lifting of sanctions that Iran will effectively benefit economically and that its banking and trade relations with other countries will return to normal," he added.
Reuters previously reported that Tehran was drafting a negative response to the U.S. proposal, which was presented in late May.
An Iranian diplomat said the U.S. offer failed to resolve differences over uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, the shipment abroad of Iran's entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium and reliable steps to lift U.S. sanctions.
Baghaei said there was no detail yet on the timing of a sixth round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
Last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the U.S. proposal as against Iran's interests, pledging to continue enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers view as a potential pathway to building nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
During his first term in 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond that pact's limits.
Iran says the West has turned a blind eye to Israel's nuclear program even while pushing against Iran's. Israel neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons.
Baghaei said sensitive Israeli documents, which Iran has previously promised to unveil, would demonstrate "that parties constantly questioning Iran's peaceful nuclear program actively work to strengthen Israel's military nuclear program."
The negotiating parties should not allow Israel to disrupt diplomatic processes, he added.
