‘Question of national pride’: Iran vows not to give up on nuclear enrichment

Iranian Foreign Minister says Tehran has no plans to abandon its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, despite the ‘severe’ damage caused by US strikes to its facilities.

A satellite image shows recovery efforts at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant after US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites on June 22. Picture: AFP/MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES

Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, despite the “severe” damage caused by US strikes to its facilities, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared ahead of renewed talks with European powers.

Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday to discuss its nuclear program, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

The meeting will be the first since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the US carried out strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up on enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” Mr Araghchi told Fox News show Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday (local time).

US President Donald Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying Washington would carry out strikes again “if necessary”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet in China last week. Picture: AFP

The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, it unravelled in 2018 when the US, during Mr 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 companies to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis.

“Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday’s talks in Istanbul on the deal’s future.

Iran will also host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing would “continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties”.

In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, 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,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Giese said.

A clause in the 2015 agreement allows for UN sanctions on Iran to be reimposed through a “snapback” mechanism in the event of noncompliance. However, the agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline.

The International Atomic Energy Agency 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”, Mr Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only began distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western noncompliance.

“Iran’s reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement,” he said.

Western powers – led by the US and backed by Israel – have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.

Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering the 12-day conflict.

“At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America,” Mr Baqaei said on Monday.

Israel launched a wave of surprise strikes on its Middle East nemesis on June 13, targeting key military and nuclear facilities.

The US launched its own strikes against Iran’s nuclear program on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.

AFP