Iran’s top diplomat insists that Tehran will never stop enriching uranium, further underlining the Islamic Republic’s red line in negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
The comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi come after multiple rounds of talks between the two nations, including at an expert level, over the details of a possible deal. However, none has been reached yet and American officials including US President Donald Trump, Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintain that Iran must give up enrichment — something it didn’t do in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
“I have said it before, and I repeat it again: uranium enrichment in Iran will continue — with or without an agreement,” Araghchi says, according to state television.
Araghchi adds that Iran is “currently reviewing whether to participate in the next round and when to take part” in talks with the US. The US and Oman, which is mediating the negotiations, have yet to announce any fifth round of talks. Trump’s trip to the Mideast last week delayed any new meeting. Negotiators previously met in Muscat, Oman, and in Rome.
“We have never abandoned diplomacy. We will always be present at the negotiating table, and the main reason for our presence is to defend the rights of the Iranian people,” Araghchi says. “We stand against excessive demands and rhetoric at the table.”
Araghchi’s remarks came a day after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he didn’t expecting the negotiations to produce a deal.
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