Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the AP news agency in Tehran, said: “There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)”.
The response is being interpreted as a sign that Iran is keen to restart talks over its nuclear programme, which has been a major point of contention between Tehran and countries such as the US, Britain, France, Germany and Israel.
Araghchi’s statement comes after reports Washington Post And the new York Times Newspapers claim Iran is building a new enrichment facility near Natanz, where existing enrichment and storage sites were damaged in Israeli and American air strikes.
The meeting, titled “International Law Under Assault: Aggression and Self-Defense”, was organized by the Institute for Political and International Studies, which is closely linked to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Iran insists on right to enrichment
Israeli and US concerns that Iran was using its civilian nuclear program to produce weapons-grade uranium reached a peak this June, with the two countries carrying out coordinated attacks on several nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic.
“There is no enrichment at the moment because our facilities, our enrichment facilities, have been attacked,” Araghchi told the AP.
Asked what Iran needs to do to continue negotiations with the US and others, Araghchi said Iran’s message on its nuclear program is “clear”.
“Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is unquestionable,” the foreign minister said.
He said, “We have this right, and we will continue to exercise it, and we hope that the international community, including the United States, will recognize our rights and understand that this is an inalienable right of Iran.” “We will never give up our rights.”
Tehran in difficult position after June war and ‘snapback’ sanctions
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami was among those who attended the three-day summit to which the AP and UK-based media were invited.
He told attendees that Tehran had been repeatedly threatened over entering the enrichment sites attacked in June.
Satellite images analyzed by AP show Iran has not carried out any major work since the bombing of its Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites.
“Our security situation has not changed yet. If you watch the news, you see that every day we are being threatened with another attack,” Eslami said. “Every day we are told that if you touch anything you will be attacked.”
Iran – which had enriched uranium to 60%, slightly less than the 90% weapons-grade level technically required and far more than the 3.67% required for energy production – has been embroiled in a legal entanglement since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.
Otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 agreement promised sanctions relief for Iran if it halted its nuclear program and allowed international inspectors regular access to its sites for verification.
Iran maintained cooperation with the IAEA after the US withdrawal.
Although European signatories were more lenient towards Tehran, in September, they also opted to “withdraw” sanctions imposed on Iran over its continued unrest.
The IAEA’s Board of Governors is scheduled to meet this week and vote on a new resolution targeting Iran over its failure to fully cooperate with the agency.
Despite his insistence on Iran’s candor, Araghchi told reporters at the summit that the US approach does not reflect that Washington is ready for “equal, fair dialogue to reach mutual interests.”
“What we’ve seen so far from the Americans is really an effort to set demands on them, which are maximalist and excessive,” he said. “In the face of such demands, we see no possibility of negotiation.”
Edited by Shawn Sinico