Iran’s priority is uranium enrichment on its own soil, VP says

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, criticized the United States for what he called shifting positions in nuclear negotiations, saying they destabilize the talks.

“The Americans’ zigzagging, contradictory positions disrupt the atmosphere. No one can be certain it won’t have an impact,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi said.

He added that uranium enrichment remains Iran’s central red line.

“Conflicting opinions in the US or elsewhere about Iran’s right to enrichment are not our concern—that’s their problem,” he said.

He continued that the issue is “very clear both inside and outside the negotiating room,” and the US side is fully aware of Iran’s stance.

He also criticized conducting negotiations through the media. “We do not believe talks should happen outside the negotiation rooms. It is not right to negotiate through the press,” he said.

Donald Trump’s praise of Persian Gulf Arab states while mocking Iran revealed the US president’s weakness, said Ghasem Ravanbakhsh, a member of Iran’s parliament from Qom.

“Your begging in Persian Gulf Arab homes and looting of the region’s wealth best illustrates the desperation of you Americans,” he said.

Tehran has not yet decided whether to attend the upcoming round of negotiations, said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday.

“We are still assessing whether to participate,” he added, noting that Iran is evaluating if “productive negotiations can take place at the proposed time and venue.”

“We have already answered unreasonable requests, and such unusual remarks do not help the talks,” he added.

“Our position is completely clear: enrichment will continue, with or without an agreement,” Araghchi said.

“If the other parties want transparency regarding Iran’s peaceful program, we are ready—but they must also lift the unjust sanctions imposed on us based on those claims.”

“If they make further demands and try to deprive us of our rights, there will be no room for acceptance,” he added.

Iran’s conservative daily Kayhan sharply criticized former President Hassan Rouhani over his recent remarks that the 2005 election “changed the course of our nuclear path,” accusing his government of naivety and capitulation in earlier negotiations.

In that election Mohammad Khatami, the outgoing president, stepped down after two rounds and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the runoff race with Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The paper wrote that Rouhani’s team, during talks under President Mohammad Khatami, accepted a voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment based on European promises, only to be misled for over two years.

“Eventually, they were told by European officials that the best guarantee Iran could offer was a permanent suspension,” Kayhan said.

The editorial accused Rouhani and his allies of failing to recognize public dissatisfaction with what it called 16 years of “elitist governance and foreign policy humiliation.”

The paper argued that the deal reached under Rouhani administration stalled Iran’s nuclear industry without lifting economic sanctions, calling the outcome “a trap set by the West.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Wednesday called on all sides involved in negotiations with Iran to support a fair outcome based on international law.

“It is clear to everyone that what the Islamic Republic of Iran presents as its principled positions are in line with international law and Iran’s needs,” Baghaei told ILNA.

“We expect all relevant parties to help reach a reasonable and logical agreement.”