NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, read the “Background” and watch the videos under “Resources”

1. What is wrong with Iran's uranium enrichment program? (Why are the UN, the EU, the U.S., Israel and many others opposed to Iran's uranium enrichment program?

2. What did Iran's foreign minister state about the country's uranium enrichment program as Iran is in the midst of negotiations with the U.S.?

3. How do Mr. Araghchi's assertions about Iran's uranium enrichment program contradict those of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East?

4. What warning did President Trump give Iran if they refuse to give up their pursuit of nuclear weapons?

5. Speaking in Saudi Arabia last week, President Trump said he wants to strike a deal with Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks, but will cripple Iran’s economy if the Islamic Republic “rejects this olive branch.”

“I want to make a deal with Iran. If I can make a deal with Iran, I’ll be very happy if we’re going to make your region and the world a safer place,” Trump said during a foreign policy speech in Riyadh.

“But if Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure [and] drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before [in my first term in office],” he said.

“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. But with that said, Iran can have a much brighter future. This is an offer that will not last forever. The time is right now for them to choose… Things are happening at a very fast pace.”

The president called Iran the “most destructive force” in the Middle East, and blamed the regime for instability across the region.

Offering what he described as both a final warning and a potential opening for diplomacy, he said Iran has a choice between continuing its “chaos and terror” or embracing a path toward peace.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said: “Trump has been very clear: He wants to solve this conflict diplomatically and with dialogue. He's given all of the signals, he's directly sent letters to the Supreme Leader... we have one very, very clear red line — and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability. We've delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this...”

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on May 17, 2025: “Trump is lying and his statements are not worth a response. Death to America! Death to England! Death to Israel! Death to the infidels!”

One reader responded:

"They [the Trump administration] had to go through the motions diplomatically but Iran wasn't going to give up their nuclear fuel enrichment program. So when the weather permits we will provide support for the Israeli airstrikes on these facilities, it is what Israel and even Saudi Arabia wanted all along. Hopefully dealing a crushing blow without major collateral human damage will provoke the Iranian people to regime change."

What do you think: Is Trump naive in trying to negotiate with the Iranians? - Will the Ayatollah give up their nuclear enrichment program, or will Israel and/or the U.S. have to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent them from having nuclear weapons?