Ahead of talks, Iran foreign minister says "no deal" if US seeks end to nuclear enrichment

Tehran( Iran), May 23 : The fifth round of "indirect" negotiations are set to be held between Iran and the United States on Friday in Rome, according to the Iranian foreign ministry. The talks, being facilitated by Oman are aimed at reviving stalled diplomacy over Iran limiting its nuclear program in exchange for lifting of economic sanctions imposed by US on the Islamic Republic.

Washington maintains that Iran's uranium enrichment programme could lead to developing nuclear bombs, while Tehran has consistently denied the claim, insisting that its nuclear programme is meant for civilian purposes.

Ahead of the talks, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said no enrichment would mean "we do NOT have a deal."

"Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science: Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal. Time to decide..."

Speaking to the national Iranian television on May 22 night, Araqchi stressed that Iran will not back down from its nuclear rights. He emphasised that his country has the right to develop its peaceful nuclear technology.

"We will not retreat from our rights. Our nuclear programincluding enrichmentmust continue. However, we are ready to adopt confidence-building and transparency measures and accept broader monitoring, because we are confident in the peaceful nature of our program," he said as per state media IRNA.

CNN had in its report on May 20 quoted US officials alleging that the Israeli regime was preparing an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi according to the country's state media IRNA warned that any Israeli adventurism targeting Iran's nuclear sites would be met with a decisive response, as has been the case in the past.

Araqchi said he has formally notified the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran will take special measures to defend its people, interests, and nuclear facilities, with details to be disclosed to the UN and IAEA at a later date.

Araqchi conveyed these remarks in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN Security Council President Evangelos C Sekeris, and IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday.

In a post on X, Iranian foreign minister wrote, "Threats from the rogue Israeli regime are nothing new. But the recent leak citing US officials as divulging Israeli plans for an unlawful attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities is alarming and warrants immediate and serious condemnation from the UN Security Council and the IAEA."

Araqchi also emphasized that Israel's nuclear program presents a serious threat to global security, urging the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli regime to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and commit to disarmament agreements.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Thursday discussed his plans with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a nuclear deal with Iran ahead of today's talks in Rome between US and Iranian officials.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing that the leaders talked "about a potential deal with Iran, which the president believes is moving along in the right direction." Trump also expressed his condolences to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu about the murder of two Israeli diplomats in Washington DC on Wednesday during the discussion, the White House Secretary said.

Trump's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Policy Planning Director Michael Anton will be present in Rome for the fifth round of talks between the US and Iran.

Iran and the United States have held four rounds of nuclear talks since April 12- three in Muscat and one in Rome.

In its report published on May 20, CNN had reported that US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. "US Officials caution it's not clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision, and that in fact, there is deep disagreement within the US government about the likelihood that Israel will ultimately act. Whether and how Israel strikes will likely depend on what it thinks of the US negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program," the US media outlet reported.

It said citing an unnamed source familiar with US intelligence in the issue. "But the chance of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility has gone up significantly in recent months,"adding that "And the prospect of a Trump-negotiated US-Iran deal that doesn't remove all of Iran's uranium makes the chance of a strike more likely."

CNN reported that Trump has publicly threatened military action against Iran if his administration's efforts to negotiate a new nuclear deal to limit or eliminate Tehran's nuclear program fail. In a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in mid-March, Trump set a 60-day deadline for those efforts to succeed, according to a source familiar with the communication.

Khamenei, on Tuesday said that he does not expect negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program to "reach a conclusion," calling the US demand that Iran not enrich uranium a "big mistake." Iran insists it has a right to enrich under the United Nations' Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and says it will not relinquish that right under any circumstances.

US special envoy to West Asia Witkoff had on Sunday said that the Trump administration's "red line" in nuclear talks with Iran was that Tehran cannot maintain any ability to enrich uranium. "We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability," Witkoff told ABC's "This Week."

"Everything begins... with a deal that does not include enrichment... because enrichment enables weaponization. And we will not allow a bomb to get here," he added.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi posted on his X account: "If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal."

In July 2015 the Iran nuclear agreement- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and several world powers including the United States, which capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms.

The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord. Since then Iran has Iran started exceeding agreed-upon limits to its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 2019, and began enriching uranium to higher concentrations up to 60 per cent purity which is very close to the weapons grade level.

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