TEHRAN, Nov. 17 — Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that no uranium enrichment is currently being carried out in the country, while stressing the country’s right to do so.
“At present, no uranium enrichment is being carried out in Iran as our enrichment facilities have come under attack,” he was quoted by the official news agency IRNA as saying on the sidelines of an international conference in the Iranian capital Tehran.
Iran’s right to uranium enrichment and peaceful use of nuclear energy is “undeniable” and should be recognized by the international community, including the United States, said the foreign minister.
Araghchi said that there are no undeclared nuclear and uranium enrichment facilities in Iran and that all Iranian nuclear facilities are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Commenting on the possibility of resuming nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, he noted the U.S. government’s current approach was in no way indicative of its readiness for a fair negotiation on equal footing to safeguard mutual interests.
“What we have witnessed so far from the Americans has, in fact, been an effort to dictate completely maximal and excessive demands,” he said.
Iran and the United States had held five rounds of indirect, Oman-mediated talks on the nuclear issue and U.S. sanctions relief, and were preparing for a sixth round when Israel launched major airstrikes on June 13 on nuclear and military sites in Iran, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. On June 22, U.S. forces struck the Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. (Xinhua)
