Iran wants to reach a “peaceful” nuclear agreement with the United States to resolve a decades-long dispute, but will not compromise its national security, the deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Tuesday.
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
In October, President Donald Trump said the United States was prepared to make a deal with Iran when Tehran was ready to do so, adding, “The hand of friendship and cooperation (with Iran) is open.”
Speaking at the 12th Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, Khatibzadeh said Washington was sending Tehran contradictory messages about nuclear talks through third countries.
The two nations held five rounds of nuclear talks prior to a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, which Washington joined by striking key Iranian nuclear sites.
Repeating Tehran's view, Khatibzadeh accused Washington of “betraying diplomacy” and the nuclear talks have stopped since the June war.
Major gaps remain between the two sides such as the issue of uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, which the United States wants to cut to zero to minimize any risk of weaponization, a plan Tehran has rejected.
Last week, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ruled out negotiations with the United States under threat.
“Tehran is not seeking nuclear bombs and ... is prepared to assure the world about it. We are very proud of our home-grown nuclear program,” Khatibzadeh said.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said, “As long as we are a member of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), we will abide by our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor.”
Baghaei's comments on Monday were in response to chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, saying last week that Iran “cannot say 'I remain within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty’, and then not comply with obligations.”
The Iranian spokesperson noted that inspection requests are reviewed in accordance with Iranian law and the Supreme National Security Council’s decisions.
“Given the recent acts of aggression by the US and Israel, the Agency must understand that conditions are not normal,” Baghaei said. “Before those attacks, cooperation with the IAEA was proceeding normally. Even afterward, we reached an understanding in Cairo to continue technical cooperation under the new circumstances.”
He stressed that “the Director-General himself has repeatedly stated, both in official reports and in interviews, that Iran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful, and there is no evidence or indication that it has deviated from this path.”
