Araghchi: Iran’s enrichment program not up for negotiation
President says country’s affairs will not await nuclear talks
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Iran’s enrichment of uranium is “non-negotiable” after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called for a halt to uranium enrichment ahead of the second round of talks between the two countries in Italy.
“Iran’s enrichment [program] is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The remarks came as Araghchi and Witkoff are due to meet again in Rome on Saturday, a week after they held the highest-level talks since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018.
Both sides described Saturday’s meeting as “constructive”, which was held in Oman.
But on Tuesday, Witkoff said Iran must “stop and eliminate” its enrichment of uranium as part of any nuclear deal.
He had previously demanded only that Iran return to the 3.67 percent enrichment ceiling set by the 2015 accord between Iran and major powers that Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.
Conflicting positions
Araghchi condemned what he called the “contradictory and conflicting positions” coming out of the Trump administration ahead of Saturday’s talks.
“We will find out the true opinions of the Americans during the negotiation session,” he said.
Iran’s top diplomat said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement but said that required “constructive positions” from the United States.
“If we continue to (hear) contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems,” he warned.
On Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei cautioned that while the talks have proceeded well in their early stages, they could still prove fruitless.
“The negotiations may or may not yield results,” he said.
Moscow visit
Before the second round of talks, Araghchi will deliver a message from Iran’s Leader to Russian President Vladimir Putin on a trip to Russia.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday said that the negotiations are underway and the country’s affairs are proceeding normally, stressing that the country’s affairs will not be held up for the outcome of the nuclear talks. However, he said that, “We naturally welcome an agreement.”
The US president met with his top national security aides on Tuesday to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
A source briefed on the meeting said Trump and his top aides discussed the Iran talks and subsequent steps. US officials have been working on a framework for a potential nuclear deal.