'National pride': Iran says it will not halt nuclear enrichment ahead of European talks

SBS Australia

5 days ago

Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, despite the "severe" damage caused by United States strikes to its facilities, the country's foreign minister said ahead of renewed talks with European powers. Iran is scheduled to meet the United Kingdom, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear program, with Iran accusing European countries of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Before the conflict, Iran and the US held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but could not agree on the extent to which Iran should be allowed to enrich uranium.
Israel and US say Iran was close to enriching to levels that would allow it to quickly produce a nuclear weapon, while Iran says its enrichment program is for civilian purposes only.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier on Tuesday AEST: "It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously, we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists." "And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride," he said. US President Donald Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying the US would carry out strikes again "if necessary". The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and United Nations Security Council permanent members — UK, China, France, Russia and the US —plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. But it unravelled in 2018 when the US, during Trump's first term, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis.
"Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul on the deal's future.
Iran will also host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday with representatives from China and Russia to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions. The Chinese foreign ministry said China would "continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes in account the legitimate concerns of all parties". In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Iran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments.
Germany said the Istanbul talks would be at the expert level, with the European trio, or E3, working "flat out" to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution.
"If no solution is reached by the end of August ... the snapback also remains an option for the E3," said its foreign ministry spokesperson, Martin Giese. A clause in the 2015 agreement allows for UN sanctions on Iran to be reimposed through a "snapback" mechanism in the event of non-compliance.
But the agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline.
'No intention of speaking with America' The UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60 per cent — far beyond the 3.67 per cent cap set by the 2015 accord. That is a short step from the 90 per cent enrichment required for a nuclear weapon. Using the snapback clause was "meaningless, unjustifiable and immoral", Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only started distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western non-compliance. "Iran's reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement," he said. "At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America." Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Israel is not. The IAEA says it has "no credible indication" of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran. Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely meant for civilian purposes. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country believed to have nuclear weapons and said its attack against Iran was aimed at preventing Iran from developing its own nuclear weapons.