Elliot Abrams
National Review, June 2, 2025
“So the picture seems clear: The Trump administration says no bomb and no enrichment, and Iran keeps enriching and saying it will never stop fully.”
While the negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran are opaque, there are enough leaks and on-the-record comments to see where it’s all likely heading: to an interim agreement that badly undermines U.S. interests.
Most press coverage has centered on the enrichment issue: the Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff comments saying Iran cannot enrich at all vs. Iran’s government saying it will never give up its “right” to enrich. “They have to walk away from enrichment,” Rubio said on The Sean Hannity Show. He added that “the only countries in the world that enrich uranium are the ones that have nuclear weapons. . . . If you have the ability to enrich at 3.67 percent, it only takes a few weeks to get to 20 percent, then 60 percent and then the 80 and 90 percent that you need for a weapon.”
We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1 percent of an enrichment capability. We’ve delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them. . . . But everything begins [with] a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that. Because enrichment enables weaponization. And we will not allow a bomb to get here. … [To read the full article, click here]