Iran Will Reportedly Insist On Right To Enrich Uranium As Netanyahu Says Tehran ‘Will Not Have Nuclear Weapons’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon as a semi-official news agency in Tehran said the country won't give up its right to enrich uranium.

The contrasting stances come as Iran and the U.S. are reportedly close to signing a memorandum of understanding to end the war and kick off negotiations related to Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's semi-official IRNA news agency said the country won't give up its right to enrich uranium under any deal. The country, the outlet said, will "negotiate only the nuclear program solely within the framework of the Islamic Republic's fundamental principles."

"Issues such as Iran's right to enrich uranium and the retention of enriched material by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be emphasized with a view to their inclusion in the final agreement," adds a passage of the piece.

Netanyahu, on his end, said he and President Donald Trump are in "complete agreement" about the need to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. In a social media post, he said that as long as he is prime minister, Iran won't be able to have one.

"Without this struggle, Iran would have long ago obtained nuclear bombs to destroy Israel," he added. "Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I have dedicated my life to preventing them from doing so," Netanyahu added.

Trump said said on Thursday he was calling off planned attacks against Iran as a deal was all but reached. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, however, said a deal had not been signed.

IRNA also reported on Friday the terms of a draft agreement with the U.S. does not include giving up control of the Hormuz Strait, which Tehran is seeking to control following the war.

"Iran makes no commitment in this text to cede the management of the strait or the restoration of conditions that existed prior to the American and Israeli military aggression," the news agency said. The country has been seeking to charge ships transiting through the key waterway as a way to seek compensation for damages sustained in the war.

The memorandum would extend a ceasefire for 60 days, including in Lebanon, when nuclear negotiations would be held. Two sources familiar with the matter told Axios that the deal had been approved by high-ranking Iranian officials but not yet by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.