Tehran ready to curb nuclear program for sanctions removal: Deputy FM
Iran's deputy foreign minister said that Tehran is prepared to accept certain limitations on its nuclear program for “a certain period” in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, but ending uranium enrichment entirely is nonnegotiable.
"Iran can be flexible on the capacities and limits of enrichment, but cannot agree to stop enrichment under any circumstance because it's essential, and we need to rely on ourselves, not on empty promises," Majid Takht-e Ravanchi told Japan’s Kyodo News in an interview.
“If the United States insists on zero enrichment, then we have no agreement,” the Iranian official said.
Since April, Iran and the United States have held five rounds of negotiations to resolve a dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. But an unprovoked aggression by the US and its ally, Israel, against Iran before a sixth round of the negotiations derailed the talks.
During the talks, the US insisted on zero uranium enrichment in Iran. But the Islamic Republic underlined that it will not accept the US demand.
“Iran is ready to negotiate with the United States, but the United States must make clear whether it is truly interested in a win-win dialogue or in imposing its will,” Takht-e Ravanchi said.
The deputy foreign minister also referred to the “illegal” US strikes on Iran’s three nuclear sites during its aggression on June 22, saying that the strikes inflicted severe damage on the facilities.
The Iranian official warned that any new threat by the US would be met with a decisive response.
He said that Tehran is in contact with Washington through a third country mediating between the two sides.