Ben Rezaei, Ria Reddy, Carolyn Moorman,

Avery Borens, Johanna Moore, and Annika Ganzeveld

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Iran has reportedly asked the United States for support to develop a peaceful nuclear program, which is likely part of a continued Iranian effort to maintain domestic uranium enrichment. An unspecified senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal on July 10 that Iran seeks to secure sanctions relief and US assistance with a civilian nuclear program. Iran would likely seek a US-supported civilian nuclear program to involve uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, given that Iran has not changed its position on the US demand for zero uranium enrichment. Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi told French media on July 10, for example, that enrichment is Iran's "right and need." The United States sought, before the Israel-Iran War, to establish a regional nuclear consortium outside of Iran that would provide Iran with uranium for civilian nuclear purposes but would not allow enrichment on Iranian soil. Iranian officials stated that Iran was open to the consortium model, but only if the consortium's enrichment facility was located in Iran. Iran would similarly likely only accept US assistance with its nuclear program if the United States allows Iran to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil.

The senior White House official said that US demands require Iran to remove remaining nuclear material and enrichment infrastructure, accept strict limits on its missile program, and halt support for the Axis of Resistance. Iran would also need to resume cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and agree to on-demand inspections of its nuclear facilities. Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected such demands.

Key Takeaways:

• The British Navy and the European Union (EU) naval task force were unable to protect two merchant vessels from recent Houthi attacks. Ocean swells can hide small attack craft on radars, making them difficult to detect. The large geographic area of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that the British Navy and the EU naval task force patrol imposes constraints on the navies’ ability to respond to crises.

• Iran has reportedly asked the United States for support to develop a peaceful nuclear program, which is likely part of a continued Iranian effort to maintain domestic uranium enrichment. Iran reportedly seeks to secure sanctions relief and US assistance with a civilian nuclear program. In exchange, the United States is demanding that Iran remove remaining enriched nuclear material and enrichment equipment, limit its missile program, and halt support for the Axis of Resistance.

• The Israel-Iran War has exacerbated pre-existing fissures between reformists and hardliners in the Iranian regime over how to engage the West. A group of 180 Iranian reformists signed a letter urging President Masoud Pezeshkian to pursue negotiations with the United States and Europe to prevent renewed conflict. Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-affiliated Fars News rejected the statement on July 11 as “politically naive” and a “repetition of failed strategies.”

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