As the Trump administration reenters talks with Iran to head off a potential war, one number defines the challenge facing U.S. negotiators: zero.
President Donald Trump has made clear that any deal aimed at defusing tensions with Tehran must bar Iran from enriching uranium altogether. Known as a “zero enrichment” policy, the position reflects the administration’s hard-line view that Iran cannot be trusted with even limited nuclear capabilities.
Uranium enrichment is the process of refining nuclear material so it can be used for energy — or, at higher levels, nuclear weapons. Trump’s stance leaves no room for partial measures. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, spelled it out plainly in May, saying the United States cannot allow Iran “even 1 percent” of enrichment capability.
That was the position Witkoff reportedly carried into talks with Iranian officials in Oman on Friday. Iranian leaders have already rejected it outright, insisting that enrichment is a sovereign right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. That argument, analysts note, is both a legal talking point and a point of national pride for a regime that has poured decades of effort and resources into its nuclear program.
Iran’s foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, reinforced that stance this week, calling enrichment nonnegotiable. He has repeatedly described it as an “undeniable right,” a position Iranian officials have held for more than a decade.
The stark clash between Washington’s zero-tolerance policy and Tehran’s insistence on enrichment has led arms control experts to warn that compromise may be nearly impossible. Some say Trump’s demand could doom the talks before they begin, since Iran views enrichment as central to its sovereignty.
Still, the administration’s approach reflects long-standing skepticism about Iran’s intentions. While the current talks are focused narrowly on nuclear issues, many Iran hawks inside the administration and Congress argue any acceptable agreement must also address Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups across the Middle East.
The negotiations come against a backdrop of pressure. Trump has paired diplomacy with the deployment of U.S. military forces to the region and has repeatedly warned Iran of severe consequences if talks fail. Previous negotiations collapsed last June when Trump joined an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Those strikes damaged key facilities, including a site buried deep under a mountain at Fordo. Even so, experts say Iran retains the ability to revive its nuclear program, making the current talks particularly urgent.
Iran bases its enrichment claim on Article IV of the Nonproliferation Treaty, which guarantees the right to peaceful nuclear energy. Tehran argues that includes producing fuel for energy and medical research. Western governments, however, have consistently rejected that interpretation, citing intelligence that points to Iran’s interest in nuclear weapons.
Even during negotiations under the Obama administration that led to the 2015 nuclear deal, U.S. officials argued that Iran’s past weapons-related work undermined any claimed right to enrichment. That deal allowed limited enrichment but stopped short of recognizing it as a legal right. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, after which Iran rapidly expanded its nuclear activities.
Some experts say Iran might, under heavy pressure, agree to temporarily suspend enrichment without surrendering its claimed right. But even that would be politically difficult for the regime, which has woven enrichment into its national narrative.
And nuclear issues are only part of the picture. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that meaningful talks must also address Iran’s missiles, its support for terrorism, and its treatment of its own people.
For now, the zero enrichment demand stands as Trump’s clear red line — one that underscores his belief that lasting security comes not from half-measures, but from denying Iran any path to the bomb.
