The U.S.-Iran talks on a nuclear deal “will lead nowhere” if the United States continues to insist that Iran halts uranium enrichment, a top Iranian official said on Monday.
“Our position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly stated that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down,” Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said “We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace.”
The comment sank oil prices on Thursday, as market participants weighed the potential of the U.S. easing sanctions in case of a deal.
“We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this… there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” President Trump told a pool of reporters during his tour of the Middle East.
However, major sticking points remain, especially regarding the enrichment of uranium. Iran insists it has the right to do it for what it says is nuclear energy for peaceful civil purposes. The U.S. insists Iran that drop all enrichment activities.
This weekend, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News in an interview that there is a U.S. red line regarding Iran.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1 percent of an enrichment capability. We’ve delivered a proposal to the Iranians that we think addresses some of this without disrespecting them,” Witkoff said.
“But everything begins for our standpoint, with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that. Because enrichment enables weaponization. And we will not allow a bomb to get here.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday “The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to build confidence regarding the continuation of peaceful nature of its nuclear program, but it cannot compromise on the Iranian nation’s legitimate and legal right to peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment, which is granted to all member states under the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty].”
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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