Iran could end its ban on acquiring nuclear weapons if Western sanctions are reimposed, Iran’s top diplomat told The Guardian in an interview published Thursday ahead of talks on the matter.
Iran is set to meet Britain, France and Germany for talks on its nuclear program on Friday, after all three governments joined with the United States in calling for the UN nuclear watchdog to censure Tehran.
Last week’s rebuke prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have signaled a willingness to engage with others ahead of the return of US President-elect Donald Trump, whose previous administration used “maximum pressure” against the Islamic republic. “The policy was adopted.
Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but according to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to have enriched uranium up to 60 percent.
In an interview published on the eve of the talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that there is frustration in Tehran over unfulfilled commitments such as lifting sanctions, sparking debate over whether the country should change its nuclear policy.
“At the moment we have no intention of going beyond 60 percent and that is our determination at the moment,” he told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
But, he added, “the debate is ongoing in Iran, and mostly among the elite…whether we should change our nuclear doctrine” because so far it has proven “inadequate in practice.”
The 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers was intended to give Iran relief from Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear program to prevent it from developing a weapons capability.
Tehran has consistently denied any intention to pursue nuclear weapons.
Tehran’s willingness to sit down with three European governments so soon after the condemnation comes just weeks before Trump returns to the White House.
During his first term, Trump focused on reimposing heavy sanctions on Iran following his administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 accord three years after it was agreed.
In retaliation for the US withdrawal, Tehran reduced its compliance with the deal, increasing its uranium enrichment level to 60 percent – ​​close to the 90 percent required for a nuclear bomb.
‘Legal Obligation’
Under the 2015 deal – which expires in October 2025 – Iran’s enrichment was capped at 3.67 percent.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final decision-making authority in Iran, has issued a religious edict, or fatwa, banning nuclear weapons.
Iranian diplomat Majid Takhat-Ravanchi, who serves as Araghchi’s political deputy, is scheduled to represent Iran at Friday’s talks.
He will also meet with Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the EU’s foreign affairs branch, according to the IRNA state news agency.
Last week, the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues.
Iran described the resolution brought by Britain, France, Germany and the United States as “politically motivated”.
In response, Tehran announced the launch of a “new advanced centrifuge” designed to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium.
For Tehran, the goal of Friday’s talks is to avoid a “double disaster” scenario, in which it would face new pressure from both Trump and European countries, according to political analyst Mostafa Shirmohammadi.
He said Iran’s support among European governments has declined due to allegations that Iran offered military assistance to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Iran has denied the allegations and expressed hope for improving relations with Europe, while maintaining a tough stance.
The IAEA’s censure resolution urged Iran to “fulfill its legal obligations” under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), ratified in 1970, which requires member states to declare and maintain their nuclear material under IAEA supervision. it occurs.
In response, Araghchi, who played a key role in nuclear talks in 2015, said Iran was commissioning “several thousand advanced centrifuges”.
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said on Wednesday that they had started pumping gas into the centrifuges.
Centrifuges work by rapidly spinning uranium gas to increase the proportion of fissionable isotope U-235.
Iran’s nuclear program dates back to the late 1950s when the United States, then an ally, signed a civil cooperation agreement with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
