TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — Iran's foreign ministry issued a pointed rejection on Saturday of the Trump administration's core demand that Tehran hand over its stockpiles of enriched uranium as a precondition for a new nuclear agreement, deepening the impasse between the two sides and casting fresh uncertainty over ongoing diplomatic contacts.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that surrendering enriched uranium was 'not on the table under any circumstances,' describing the US position as 'maximalist and disconnected from the realities of international law.' He reiterated Iran's stance that civilian enrichment is a sovereign right enshrined under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that any agreement must respect that principle.

The standoff follows a week of increasingly public divergence between Washington and Tehran. President Trump had insisted on Thursday that Iran give up its uranium as a non-negotiable condition, while simultaneously pressing for guaranteed free passage for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls or Iranian interference. Iranian officials characterised both demands as tantamount to asking Tehran to dismantle its strategic deterrent without receiving meaningful sanctions relief in return.

European mediators, including envoys from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, expressed concern on Saturday that the widening gap between the parties could collapse the informal channel of negotiations that had been quietly progressing through Omani intermediaries in recent weeks. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged both sides to 'exercise restraint and return to the framework of verifiable, mutual steps' rather than escalating public ultimatums.

Analysts warned that the public hardening of positions on both sides risks foreclosing a diplomatic window that many had cautiously viewed as the best opportunity for a nuclear arrangement since the collapse of the 2015 JCPOA. With Iran's uranium enrichment now reportedly at near-weapons-grade levels according to the latest IAEA quarterly report, the stakes of continued deadlock remain acute for regional security and global energy markets.