Latest news with #Iravani
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's UN ambassador: Iran's nuclear enrichment will ‘never stop'
The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said his country will 'never stop' nuclear enrichment, saying it's an 'inalienable right' that Iran plans on exercising. In an interview on CBS News's 'Face the Nation,' moderator Margaret Brennan pressed the ambassador on whether Iran intends to 'reconstitute a nuclear enrichment program on its soil.' Iravani cited a provision of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that says nonnuclear-weapon states have a right to peaceful nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, as long as it remains within certain limits. 'So the enrichment is our right, and an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' Iravani said. 'So you do plan to restart enrichment, that sounds like?' Brennan responded. 'I think that enrichment will not — never stop,' he said. President Trump ordered U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, as another round of talks were set to begin amid the Trump administration's efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran. Many Democrats have said that questions remain about the success of the strikes, which the administration has touted as a resounding success. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other top intelligence officials briefed lawmakers this past week for the first time about the June 21 strike. The meeting was held as Trump administration officials have worked overtime to push their argument that the attacks left Iran's nuclear facilities 'obliterated.' Reports emerged Tuesday about a preliminary assessment that said the U.S. strikes may have set the Iranian nuclear program back by 'a few months.' The administration has pushed back forcefully at those reports, including at a Pentagon briefing earlier Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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First Post
30-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Iran says nuclear enrichment ‘will never stop', amid warnings from IAEA & US
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, made it clear that Tehran will 'never stop' nuclear enrichment amid concerns from IAEA boss Rafael Grossi over the country's nuclear ambitions. read more Amid the speculations over missing Uranium, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic's nuclear enrichment 'will never stop' because it is permitted for 'peaceful energy' purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. 'The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' the Iranian ambassador told CBS News. He insisted that Iran was ready for negotiation of a deal, but made it clear that 'unconditional surrender is not negotiation. It is dictating the policy toward us.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Tehran is ready for the negotiation, but after this aggression, it is not a proper condition for a new round of the negotiation, and there is no request for negotiation and meeting with the president,' Iravani said. Iran's nuclear programme took a hit after Israel launched a barrage of strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, insisting that the country was just weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran's envoy challenges Grossi's assessment In the CBS News interview, the Iranian UN envoy also denied that there are any threats from his government to the safety of Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency or against any of the agency's inspectors. In the past, Iran has accused the IAEA officials of helping Israel justify its attacks. It is pertinent to note that the IAEA inspectors are currently in Iran but do not have access to Iran's nuclear facilities. When pressed by CBS News on whether he would condemn calls for the arrest and execution of the IAEA head, which Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said a newspaper close to Iran's leader had made, Iravani gave an affirmative response. 'There is no threat,' Irvani said, but acknowledged that Iran's parliament had suspended cooperation with the IAEA. The inspectors, he said, 'are in Iran, they are in safe conditions, but the activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site … we assess that they have not done their jobs.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran refuses to surrender When asked about why Tehran has not accepted the proposal for a diplomatic resolution of the issue, Iravani referred to Trump's 'unconditional surrender' demand and said that the 'US is dictating the policy towards us. If they are ready for negotiation, they will find us ready for that. But if they want to dictate to us, it is impossible for any negotiation with them.' In the Sunday interview, the Iranian envoy made it clear that Tehran could transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium to another country in the event of an agreement with the United States on Tehran's nuclear program. The transfer of 20 and 60 per cent enriched uranium would not be a red line for Tehran, Iravai said. He noted that this material could alternatively remain in Iran under IAEA supervision. However, he reiterated that Iran would not renounce its right to domestic uranium production, a condition the US rejects. The remarks from the Iranian envoy came days after Grossi told CBS News that there is 'agreement in describing this as a very serious level of damage'. He went on to warn that Iran will likely be able to begin to produce enriched uranium within months. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Iran's nuclear enrichment ‘will never stop', nation's UN ambassador says
Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, said on Sunday that the Islamic republic's nuclear enrichment 'will never stop' because it is permitted for 'peaceful energy' purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. 'The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' Iravani told CBS News, adding that Iran was ready for negotiations but 'unconditional surrender is not negotiation. It is dictating the policy toward us.' But Iravani said Tehran is 'ready for the negotiation, but after this aggression, it is not proper condition for a new round of the negotiation, and there is no request for negotiation and meeting with the president'. The Iranian UN envoy also denied that there are any threats from his government to the safety of Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or against the agency's inspectors, who are accused by some Iranian officials of helping Israel justify its attacks. IAEA inspectors are currently in Iran but do not have access to Iran's nuclear facilities. Pressed by the CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan on whether he would condemn calls for the arrest and execution of the IAEA head, which Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state said a newspaper close to Iran's leader had made, Iravani said that he would. 'There is no any threat,' Irvani said, but acknowledged that Iran's parliament had suspended cooperation with IAEA. The inspectors, he said, 'are in Iran, they are in safe conditions, but the activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site … our assessment is that they have not done their jobs.' Iravani also responded to questions on why Tehran has not accepted proposals for a diplomatic solution. Referring to Trump's 'unconditional surrender' demand, Irvani said that the US 'is dictating the policy towards us. If they are ready for negotiation, they will find us ready for that. But if they want to dictate us, it is impossible for any negotiation with them.' Iravani said on Saturday that Iran could transfer its stocks of enriched uranium to another country in the event of an agreement with the United States on Tehran's nuclear program, according to news site Al-Monitor. The transfer of 20% and 60% enriched uranium would not be a red line for Tehran, Iravani said, adding that the material could alternatively remain in Iran under IAEA supervision. But as he said again on Sunday, Iravani stressed that Iran would not renounce its right to domestic uranium production, a condition the US rejects. Irvani's comments comes as western nations, including the US, are pushing for Iran to resume negotiations over its nuclear program a week after the US launched strikes on three facilities, setting off days of heated dispute over whether the facilities has been 'totally obliterated', as Donald Trump initially claimed, or if they had delayed but not destroyed the program. Grossi told CBS that there is 'agreement in describing this as a very serious level of damage' but went on to say that Iran will likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium within months. 'The capacities they have are there,' he said. 'They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that. But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.' On Sunday, President Trump again dismissed reports that Iran had moved 400kg (880lb) on 60% enriched uranium ahead of the strikes on Fordow, regarded as the center of Iran's enrichment program. 'It's very hard to do, dangerous to do, it's very heavy, plus we didn't give them much notice because they didn't know they we were coming,' Trump told the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. Trump speculated that vehicles seen near the entrances to Fordow before the strikes were likely masons brought in to seal up the facility. 'There are thousands of tons of rock in that room right now,' Trump said. 'They whole place was just destroyed.' However, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that the US obtained intercepted Iranian communications in which senior Iran officials remarked that damage from the attack was not as destructive and extensive as they anticipated. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, scoffed at the Iranian claims in a comment to the Post in which she did not dispute that such communications had been intercepted. 'The notion that unnamed Iranian officials know what happened under hundreds of feet of rubble is nonsense,' Leavitt said. Separately on Sunday, Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran's armed forces chief of staff, reportedly told the Saudi defense minister during a call that Tehran is not convinced Israel will honour the ceasefire that ended their 12-day war announced by Trump. 'Since we are completely doubtful about the enemy honoring its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a tough response in case of recurrence of an act of aggression', Mousavi said, according to Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu. Israel and the US, 'have shown that they do not adhere to any international rules and norms' the Iranian general added. 'We did not initiate war, but we responded with all our power to the aggressor.'
The Hill
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Iran's envoy denies UN nuclear inspectors in the country are being threatened
The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, denied claims that Iran was threatening or calling for the execution of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi. In an interview on CBS News's 'Face the Nation,' Iravani was asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's warning on Saturday that 'calls in Iran' for Grossi's arrest and execution 'are unacceptable and should be condemned.' 'To be clear, is Iran threatening UN inspectors?' moderator Margaret Brennan asked Iravani. 'No, there is no[t] any threat,' Iravani said, adding that cooperation with the IAEA has been suspended, 'But there is no[t] any threat against the general director of the IAEA.' Iravani maintained that Iran will criticize the IAEA but suggested any threat would come from the individual level and does not reflect the general view of the government. 'Maybe some one — it is individual — opinion of the people that may criticize the IAEA or threat the general director,'' he said. 'But we criticize IAEA. Our assessment is that they have not done their jobs.' Iravani also assured Brennan that the inspectors are safe but that they cannot resume their work inspecting. 'They are in Iran. They are in the safe condition, but the activity has been suspended,' he said. 'They cannot have accesses to our site.' When Brennan asked whether Iravani would condemn calls for the IAEA chief's execution, the Iranian envoy said, 'yeah,' before saying something inaudible. Rubio issued his statement Saturday calling for Iranian officials to condemn the calls for Grossi's execution. 'We support the lAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the lAEA for their dedication and professionalism. We call on Iran to provide for the safety and security of IAEA personnel,' he wrote.
The Hill
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Iran's UN Ambassador: Iran's nuclear enrichment will ‘never stop'
The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said his country will 'never stop' nuclear enrichment, saying it's an 'inalienable right' that Iran plans on exercising. In an interview on CBS News's 'Face the Nation,' moderator Margaret Brennan pressed the Iranian ambassador on whether Iran intends to 'reconstitute a nuclear enrichment program on its soil.' Iravani cited a provision of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that says non-nuclear-weapon states have a right to peaceful nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, as long as it remains within certain limits. 'So the enrichment is our right, and an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' Iravani said. 'So you do plan to restart enrichment, that sounds like?' Brennan responded. 'I think that enrichment will not- never stop,' he said. Trump ordered U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, as another round of talks were set to begin as the Trump administration sought to broker a nuclear deal with Iran. Many Democrats have said that questions remain about the success of the strikes, which the administration has touted as a resounding success. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other top intelligence officials briefed lawmakers this past week for the first time about the June 21 strike. The meeting was held as Trump administration officials have worked overtime to push their argument that the attacks left Iran's nuclear facilities 'obliterated.' Reports emerged Tuesday about a preliminary assessment that said the U.S. strikes may have set the Iranian nuclear program back by 'a few months.' The administration has pushed back forcefully at those reports, including at a Pentagon briefing earlier Thursday.
