“Over the next six months, we will explore, in practical terms, whether and how Iran might end up with a limited, tightly constrained, and intensively monitored civilian nuclear program, including domestic enrichment,” White House National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden told the Free Beacon.

“Any such program would be subject to strict and verifiable curbs on its capacity and stockpiles of enriched uranium for a significant number of years and tied to practical energy needs that will remain minimal for years to come,” Hayden said.

Top Israeli leaders and many members of the U.S. Congress believe Iran should be prohibited from all enrichment. Hayden told the Free Beacon that while the U.S. “does not recognize that Iran has a ‘right to enrich,'” Iran should still “have access to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”