The United States plans to present Iran with a document outlining terms for a potential nuclear agreement, including a demand to end uranium enrichment, and is warning Tehran of serious consequences if it rejects the proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
“If they don’t accept these terms, it’s not going to be a good day for the Iranians,” a senior U.S. official told the newspaper. The proposed “term sheet” is expected to form the foundation of a broader framework aimed at resolving the standoff diplomatically.
Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran began April 12 and have included five rounds of talks. The American team is led by President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, while Iran’s delegation is headed by its foreign minister. Talks remain deadlocked over Washington’s demand that Tehran abandon its enrichment program—a position Iran has opposed throughout two decades of negotiations.
Trump said Wednesday he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against launching any military strikes that could derail the talks. “I told him this would be very inappropriate to do right now, because we’re very close to a solution,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said that a flawed deal is worse than no deal at all. Israeli officials worry the Trump administration may soften its position on enrichment to secure a deal, despite Trump’s repeated declarations that he prefers a diplomatic resolution but will keep military options on the table if diplomacy fails.
Israel has outlined its red lines to the U.S. and stressed that any agreement must completely halt Iran’s ability to enrich uranium. Officials in Jerusalem believe the administration’s eagerness for a deal may lead to dangerous compromises, undermining what they see as a critical principle: zero enrichment.
Israeli leaders say the country must preserve the right to act independently regardless of the outcome. The Israeli military has recently expanded its operational options by targeting Iran’s allies and weakening its air defense systems in the region.
Iran has accelerated its nuclear activities and is now enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, according to international nuclear monitors. The U.S. believes Iran could build a rudimentary nuclear weapon within months. Tehran is also digging fortified tunnels under its main enrichment site in Natanz, which experts warn could shield nuclear production from aerial attacks and allow rapid reconstruction after a strike.
Some Israeli officials argue for a preemptive strike before Iran completes these protective measures. Others caution that acting without U.S. support would strain the alliance and limit operational effectiveness, particularly against expected Iranian retaliation.
In recent comments to Reuters, Iranian officials suggested Tehran could temporarily halt enrichment if the U.S. releases frozen Iranian funds and formally recognizes its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. The proposal includes suspending enrichment for one year and either exporting or converting its highly enriched uranium into civilian fuel—measures they say could revive stalled negotiations.
However, deep divisions remain. Iran insists on its right to enrich, while the U.S. has issued conflicting messages—sometimes proposing limits, other times demanding a full ban. The 2015 nuclear deal, from which the U.S. withdrew under Trump in 2018, permitted low-level enrichment under international oversight to keep Iran far from weapons capability.
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Israeli officials said the country had prepared for a military strike on Iran earlier this year but postponed the plan following a request from the Trump administration to allow room for diplomacy. Security officials and experts warn that even a successful military campaign would likely only delay Iran’s nuclear program and require prolonged effort to achieve lasting results.
The debate comes at a tense moment in U.S.-Israeli relations, strained by disagreements over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and recent U.S. diplomatic outreach to Iran-backed actors. Though strategic cooperation remains strong, Israeli officials have been caught off guard by some American actions, including Trump’s recent diplomatic overtures to the Houthis in Yemen and negotiations with Hamas over hostages.
“We prefer a good agreement,” said Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser. “If in the end it is a bad agreement, Israel should use kinetic force to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, even if the U.S. opposes it.”