Iran rejects talks with West on ‘defense capabilities'
'Regarding matters related to our defense capabilities, there will absolutely be no discussion,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a regular press briefing.
Iran generally refers to all military activities, including its ballistic missile program, as defensive.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told CBS News show 'Face The Nation' that Western governments were seeking a 'comprehensive agreement' with Iran, in part to avert the 'risk' that it could covertly pursue a nuclear weapon — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.
Barrot said such agreement would include 'the nuclear dimension' as well as the 'ballistic component' and 'the regional destabilization activities that Iran has been conducting,' referring to armed groups backed by Tehran across the Middle East.
His remarks followed a meeting on Friday between Iranian diplomats and counterparts from France, Germany, and Britain — the first nuclear talks since Israeli strikes targeting the Islamic republic's atomic activities last month spiralled into a 12-day war.
Friday's talks in Istanbul came as the three European powers, known as the E3, have in recent weeks threatened to trigger a so-called 'snapback mechanism' under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal which would reinstate UN sanctions on Iran.
'Unless a new and robust and durable and verifiable agreement is reached by the end of the summer, France, Germany and the UK will have no other choice but to reapply the global embargo that were lifted 10 years ago,' said Barrot.
Iran has previously warned that Tehran could withdraw from the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty if sanctions were reimposed.
Baqaei on Monday said: 'One cannot expect a country to remain in the treaty while being deprived of its stated rights, particularly the peaceful use of nuclear energy.'
Israel's attacks on Iran last month hit key nuclear and military sites but also residential areas, and killed top commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds others. The United States briefly joined the war, striking key nuclear sites.
The fighting had derailed US-Iran nuclear negotiations that began in April, and prompted Iran to limit cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.
Baqaei said the Istanbul meeting with the European powers focused solely on 'the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.'
Raising any other 'unrelated topics... is merely a sign of confusion on the part of the other side,' the spokesman said.
He added that Iranian had emerged from the war with its staunch rival Israel 'even more determined... to safeguard all their assets, including their means of defense against foreign aggression and hostility.'
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