US-Iran nuclear deal 'within reach' but UK pulls embassy staff from Tehran amid fears of imminent strikes
The US and Iran are nearing a deal on the rogue nation's nuclear programme, officials say despite sky-high tensions leading to UK officials being pulled out of Tehran for fear of war.
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Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who has been mediating the talks over the last month, told CBS News on Friday that a "peace deal is within our reach."
He said Iran has agreed that it will "never, ever have … nuclear material that will create a bomb," which he called a "big achievement."
The regime's existing stockpiles of enriched uranium would be "blended to the lowest level possible" and "converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible," according to Albusaidi.
Iran has also agreed to let the UN's atomic energy inspectors have "full access" to its nuclear sites in order to verify adherence to a deal.
Albusaidi added: "There would be zero accumulation, zero stockpiling, and full verification".
But he admitted that "we need a little bit more time" to confirm details of an arrangement.
His revelations come after UK staff were withdrawn from the embassy in Iran amid fears of an imminent US military strike on the Islamic Republic.
The Foreign Office said on Friday staff have been temporarily moved due to the "security situation".
"Information on regional risks and that due to the security situation, UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran. Our embassy continues to operate remotely," it said in an update.
Some UK diplomatic staff and their dependents have also been moved from Tel Aviv to another location in Israel, the Foreign Office has said.
It is urging against all but essential travel to Israel due to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East as concerns grow that a strike on Iran could be launched in hours.
"Due to ongoing regional tensions, we recommend against all but essential travel to Israel and Palestine. We continue to recommend against all travel to parts of Israel and Palestine," it said.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Jerusalem has urged non-emergency government personnel and family members to leave Israel over “safety risks”.
It comes as President Trump weighs up fresh military action against Tehran. In recent weeks, the US president has repeatedly warned he will launch an attack if a deal on Iran's nuclear programme is not reached.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, is expected to arrive off the coast of northern Israel later today as part of the US military’s build-up in the region - the biggest since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
In an email sent to staff on Friday morning, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said those who wish to leave “should do TODAY”, according to the New York Times.
He said the move “will likely result in high demand for airline seats today”, adding: “Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC, but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of [the] country.”
US military refueling aircraft have also been spotted at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv amid the ongoing discussions over a possible US strike on Iran.
Iran denies moving towards making a nuclear weapon, something that the US and its European allies suspect.
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The US and Iran have been locked in talks on the matter as the West pushes for a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
Delegates from both nations met in Geneva on Thursday in an attempt to de-escalate rising tensions.
However, no statement was made by US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner following the talks in a potentially worrying sign.
Badr Albusaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, a key mediator, has now flown to Washington in a seemingly last-ditch attempt to stop Mr Trump from taking action.
He is set to brief US vice-president JD Vance and argue that sufficient progress has been made in the talks.
Iran urged the US on Friday to drop its “excessive demands” in what could be a final plea before tensions reach boiling point.
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Mr Trump did not make any substantive announcements on Iran, but he did say he would "never allow the number one state sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon".
He also said that his "preference was diplomacy" in solving the issue.
Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week: “I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them."
He had previously given Iran, on February 15, a 15-day deadline to reach a deal.
Iran has insisted talks focus only on its nuclear programme, but the US wants its missile programme and its support for militant groups quashed.
Washington has now approved the deployment of an experimental US military drone unit capable of self-detonation, known as Task Force Scorpion, Bloomberg reports, adding to the US’ vast military presence amassing near Iran.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was focused on “supporting the political process” between Washington and Tehran.
The UK is reported to have blocked a request from Mr Trump to use the Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands in the event that he decides to launch a military campaign against Iran, due to concerns it would breach international law.