US-Iran deal is within our reach: Sayyid Badr

Negotiators from the US and Iran have made 'substantial progress ' toward a deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi told CBS News on Friday in a programme.

Sayyid Badr told 'Face the Nation' moderator Margaret Brennan 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 country's existing stockpiles of enriched uranium would be 'blended to the lowest level possible' and 'converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible.'

And Iran is willing to grant inspectors from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency 'full access' to its nuclear sites to verify the terms of the deal, said Sayyid Badr. 

'There would be zero accumulation, zero stockpiling, and full verification,' he said. He said that if there is a fair and endurable deal in place, he is 'quite confident' that even American inspectors will have access at some point in the process.

Asked if he believes enough progress has been made to avert U.S. strikes on Iran, Sayyid Badr said, 'I hope so.' But he said 'we need a little bit more time' to iron out some details. Technical talks are scheduled for Monday in Vienna, and Albusaidi said he hopes that he can meet with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner a few days afterward.

Sayyid Badr said Friday that Iran is not currently enriching uranium. However, a confidential report issued by the IAEA this week assessed that Iran is conducting unexplained activity at nuclear sites that were bombed by the U.S. last June, CBS News has confirmed.

Sayyid Badr told CBS News that 'priority number one is to get this nuclear issue resolved,' but added, 'I believe Iran is open to discuss everything.'

He said he believes both the U.S. and Iranian sides are 'very, very serious to reach a deal.' He suggested that a deal could be struck imminently, though the two sides may need three months to implement the terms of any agreement. 

'If I were President Trump, my only advice is just to give those negotiators enough room and enough space to really close these remaining areas that we need to discuss and agree upon,' said Sayyid Badr.