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FM spox: Iran not to seek permission for uranium enrichment
‘Tehran open to regional nuclear fuel consortium’
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that Iran is not going to ask for permission from anyone to enrich uranium, the main sticking point in the ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
The United States is in no position to urge other countries ask for permission to exercise a right recognized under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Baqaei said during his weekly press conference in Tehran.
US officials have recently voiced strong opposition to Iran's uranium enrichment activities, while Tehran has repeatedly insisted that it was "non-negotiable."
In the latest comments by the US officials regarding Iran’s uranium enrichment, Steve Witkoff, the US chief negotiator in nuclear talks, said on Sunday that the US government’s “red line” in nuclear talks with Iran is that Iran cannot maintain any ability to enrich uranium.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff told ABC’s “This Week” program.
If the argument that any country enriching uranium necessarily is after producing nuclear bomb or is able to produce such weapons, so all enrichment facilities in South Korea, Brazil, and many other countries should be dismantled, the Iranian official said.
Baqaei said that Iran’s nuclear program dates back to 60 years ago and the US cannot expect Iran to shut down its peaceful nuclear program, calling the US demand irrational, immoral, and unlawful.
Tehran and Washington have held four rounds of Omani-mediated nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two countries since the United States abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord.
Since then, there have been reports of Iran’s proposal for the formation of a regional consortium to enrich uranium.
However, Baqaei denied that Iran had proposed the idea but said it was floated in the past by several countries.
"One of the justifications (for such a proposal) is that the Middle East region and the Persian Gulf countries may need nuclear power and would like to build new power plants, and these power plants require nuclear fuel," said Baqaei.
"If such an initiative is proposed, we would welcome it and could also participate in it, but it should be noted that such an initiative is in no way intended to replace Iran's uranium enrichment program," he added.
On Tuesday, The New York Times quoted four anonymous Iranian officials as saying that Tehran had proposed "a joint nuclear-enrichment venture involving regional Arab countries and American investments."
The venture would serve “as an alternative to Washington's demand that it dismantles its nuclear program,” it added.
On Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would continue enrichment "with or without a deal."
Araghchi said that the US officials are completely far from the realities of negotiations.
"I think they are completely far from the realities of negotiations and enrichment will continue in Iran." Araghchi said.
"If they are interested in ensuring that nuclear weapons are not produced (by Iran), we are fully prepared, but if they have unrealistic demands, they will not achieve any results," Iran’s top diplomat added.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi also said on Monday that the nuclear talks "will lead nowhere" if Washington insists that Tehran drop its uranium enrichment activity to zero.
"Our position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly stated that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down," Takht-Ravanchi said.