Trump says meeting on Iran planned for Thursday

WASHINGTON - Iran said on June 9 it will soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a US offer that Tehran deems “unacceptable,” while US President Donald Trump said talks would continue.

Mr Trump made clear that the two sides remained at odds over whether the country would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil.

“They’re just asking for things that you can’t do. They don’t want to give up what they have to give up,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House. “They seek enrichment. We can’t have enrichment.”

Earlier, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was preparing a counter-offer to the US proposal that was presented in late May.

He said there was not yet any detail about the timing of a sixth round of talks.

While Mr Trump said the next round of talks would take place on June 12, a senior Iranian official and a US. official said June 12 was unlikely.

The US official said the talks, led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, could be on June 13 or June 15, possibly in Oman or Oslo.

“The US 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 finalised. This proposal is reasonable, logical, and balanced,” Mr 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.”

Reuters previously reported that Tehran was drafting a negative response to the US proposal.

An Iranian diplomat said the USoffer failed to resolve differences over uranium enrichment