Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
Iran’s foreign minister has once again highlighted uranium enrichment as the country's red line in the upcoming nuclear talks with the United States.
Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that there would be no deal if the US insisted on zero enrichment in Iran.
“We will not give up our rights, and our nuclear program, including enrichment, must continue. But we are ready to take confidence-building measures,” Araghchi said.
“I declare frankly that if what American officials have said in their interviews, that they do not believe in enrichment in Iran, is true, there will be no agreement,” he stated.
“But if its goal is to ensure that nuclear weapons are not obtained, this can be achieved because we are not seeking nuclear weapons in principle,” the foreign minister said.
The minister said Iran has never sought to build a nuclear weapon, although it possesses the technical capability to do that.
He reiterated that nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's defense doctrine.
Referring to Israel's threats about attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, Araghchi said Iran is ready to defend itself and its response will be rapid and strong.
He added that Iran considers the US responsible for any possible Israeli attack, whether American forces are involved or not, because Israel will never dare to attack Iran without coordination with the US.
He also touched on threats posed by the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to activate its snapback mechanism and restore UN sanctions against Iran.
He said Europeans could restore those sanctions, but in that case, they would lose contact with Iran, and cause a crisis for the global non-proliferation system.
Iran and the US have already held four rounds of indirect negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman, amid repeated shifts in Washington’s stance, which has prompted Iranian officials to criticize the “contradictory” statements made by US officials.
The US also keeps imposing fresh sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry and nuclear program, despite the ongoing talks.
Washington has time and again insisted on demanding “complete cessation” of Iran's peaceful uranium enrichment activities, seeking to label any level of enrichment as a “red line.”
This is while Tehran has firmly rejected the idea, stating that it would continue its enrichment program regardless of the outcome of the talks.
On Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also called it “utterly wrong” for the US to insist on Iran’s completely stopping its peaceful uranium enrichment activities, advising the American side to avoid “idle talk” regarding the courses of action that it thinks the Islamic Republic should or should not take.
He voiced skepticism concerning the outcome of Iran’s underway indirect talks with the US, saying that the talks are unlikely to yield results.
