Former US Official Disputes White House Claims About Iran Nuclear Deal Negotiations

Alan Eyre, a former member of the US negotiating team for the 2015 nuclear deal, has rejected recent White House assertions that Iran has retreated from the initial agreement terms, calling such claims the result of “misunderstanding or fabrication.” He stated that the narratives presented publicly do not necessarily align with the behind-the-scenes realities.

In an interview with CNN, Eyre described the current diplomatic environment between Tehran and Washington as “extremely difficult,” adding that reaching an agreement today is more complicated than in the past. According to him, the levels of mistrust and political tensions have introduced new challenges to the negotiation process.

The former American diplomat questioned President Donald Trump’s statements alleging Iran’s withdrawal from early negotiation proposals. He also called Iran’s purported readiness to export all highly-enriched uranium to the US “incredible,” emphasizing that some information released by both parties does not fully reflect the true state of talks.

Now affiliated with the Middle East Institute, Eyre assessed the chances of reaching a deal as lower compared to 2015. He identified the inclusion of the Strait of Hormuz issue in discussions as one of the factors complicating the negotiation process.

These comments come amid Trump’s claim yesterday that Iran agreed two days prior to cooperate in removing enriched uranium stocks from underground facilities but then reversed its position. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have stated that they have responded to the so-called US peace proposal, which Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social was not satisfactory to him.