Tehran (TDI): Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takhtravanchi said on Monday that Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “will lead nowhere” if the US insists that Tehran drop its uranium enrichment activity to zero.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has reiterated Washington’s Sunday that any new agreement between Washinton and Iran must include a deal not to enrich uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs.
Iran argues its nuclear energy program for only peaceful purposes.
Iran’s position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly said that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down, Takhtravanchi said.
During his Middle East tour last week, US President Donald Trump said an agreement was very close but that Tehran needed to move quickly.
Read More: Oman Hosts Crucial US-Iran Nuclear Talks
During his first term in White House, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 agreement between Tehran and global powers that placed strict limits on Iran’s enrichment activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.
Read More: US Nears Nuclear Deal with Iran: Trump
Trump, who branded the 2015 deal one-sided in Tehran’s favor, also reimposed massive sanctions on the country. Ira responded by escalating enrichment.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
