Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
01-07-2025
TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran’s deputy foreign minister has told media.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the Trump administration has told Iran through mediators it wants to return to negotiations, but had “not made their position clear” on the “very important question” of further attacks while talks are taking place.
Israel’s military operation, which began in the early hours of 13 June, scuppered a sixth round of mainly indirect talks set to take place in Muscat two days later.
The US became directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran last weekend when it targeted three Iranian nuclear sites in a bombing raid.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran will “insist” on being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting accusations that Iran was secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.
He said Iran had been “denied access to nuclear material” for its research program so needed “to rely on ourselves”.
“The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle,” the deputy foreign minister said.
Israel began its attacks, targeting nuclear and military sites as well as assassinating commanders and scientists, in Iran on 13 June, claiming Tehran was close to building a nuclear weapon.
Iran responded by attacking Israel with missiles. Hostilities continued for 12 days, during which the US dropped bombs on three of Iran’s nuclear sites; Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear program by US strikes has been unclear and Takht-Ravanchi said he could not give an exact assessment.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the strikes caused severe but “not total” damage, while US President Donald Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “totally obliterated”.
Grossi also said Iran had the capacity to start enriching uranium again in “a matter of months”. In response, Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know if that would be the case. Iran’s relationship with the IAEA has become increasingly strained. On Wednesday, its parliament moved to suspend cooperation with the atomic watchdog, accusing the IAEA of siding with Israel and the US.
Trump has said he would “absolutely” consider bombing Iran again if intelligence found that it could enrich uranium to concerning levels.
Takht-Ravanchi said no date had been agreed upon for a possible return to talks and he did not know what would be on the agenda, after Trump suggested discussions could take place this week.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said “right now we are seeking an answer to this question; are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?”
He said the US had to be “quite clear on this very important question” and “what they are going to offer us in order to make the necessary confidence required for such a dialogue”.
Asked if Iran could consider rethinking its nuclear program as part of any deal, possibly in return for sanctions relief and investment in the country, Takht-Ravanchi said; “why should we agree to such a proposal?”
He reiterated that Iran’s program, including enriching uranium to 60%, was “for peaceful purposes”. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
