Tehran indicates it will not accept the US proposal made during the fifth round of talks last month.<\/p>\n
Iran will soon present a counterproposal for a nuclear deal to the United States, according to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
Esmaeil Baghaei, the ministry\u2019s spokesman, told a weekly news conference on Monday that Iran was not satisfied with a US proposal and it would present its version via mediator Oman.<\/p>\n
This marks the first public sign that Tehran will not accept the US proposal after the fifth round of talks last month, during which Iran said it had received \u201celements\u201d of a US proposal and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said the text contained \u201cambiguities\u201d.<\/p>\n
Baqhaei criticised the US proposal on Monday as \u201clacking elements\u201d reflective of the previous rounds of negotiations, but he did not provide details.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will soon submit our own proposed plan to the other side through Oman once it is finalised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Baghaei\u00a0said the US proposal failed to include the lifting of sanctions \u2013 a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.<\/p>\n
Five rounds of talks<\/p>\n
Tehran and Washington have held talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear accord to replace a deal with major powers that US President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.<\/p>\n
The longtime foes have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment. Tehran defends it as a \u201cnonnegotiable\u201d right and Washington describes it as a \u201cred line\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump, who has revived his \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign of sanctions on Iran since retaking office in January, has repeatedly said Tehran will not be allowed any uranium enrichment under a potential deal.<\/p>\n