US pulled proposal allowing enrichment, senior Iran envoy tells Der Spiegel

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Rome on Friday ahead of the fifth round of indirect talks with the United States, Iranian state media reported.

The talks are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Iran time (1:30 p.m. local time in Itay), according to the report.

A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Friday that the country’s uranium enrichment program serves as a deterrent against foreign threats and is essential for peaceful purposes, including medical use.

“Enrichment is a critical factor in preventing foreign powers from launching attacks on Iran,” said Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, according to state media. “It has helped stop enemies from striking our country.”

He said Iran enriches uranium for non-military purposes, such as fueling the Tehran research reactor, which produces medicine for cancer patients.

Rezaei warned that surrendering enrichment would only lead to further pressure from the West. “If we give up this capability, they will next target our defense power,” he said.

US-Iran talks appear unlikely to lead to an agreement, with the United States insisting that Tehran dismantle its uranium enrichment program, CNN cited two Iranian sources as saying.

Iran’s participation in the fifth round of talks in Rome on Friday is solely to gauge Washington’s latest stance rather than pursue a potential breakthrough, the sources added.

“The media statements and negotiating behavior of the United States has widely disappointed policy-making circles in Tehran,” CNN quoted the two Iranian sources as saying in a joint message.

“From the perspective of decision-makers in Tehran, when the US knows that accepting zero enrichment in Iran is impossible and yet insists on it, it is a sign that the US is fundamentally not seeking an agreement and is using the negotiations as a tool to intensify pressure.”

They added that while some Iranian officials initially hoped for a “win-win” compromise, a consensus has since formed that the Trump administration is pushing the talks toward deadlock. With the current US position, the sources said, the negotiations are becoming unproductive and may not continue much longer.

The sources said Tehran no longer takes seriously US efforts to distance itself from Israel’s position and believes the American proposals follow the agenda of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has demanded that Iran be barred from all uranium enrichment.

They suggested that Tehran will likely take a tougher stance unless the US offers tangible concessions.

A senior Iranian cleric on Friday rebuked Washington for its wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan in a riposte to President Donald Trump's blistering Riyadh speech this month criticizing Iran's underdevelopment.

“They were in Iraq and Afghanistan for 20 years but didn’t build a single power plant or proper infrastructure,” said Mohammad Mohammadian, deputy head of the Supreme Leader’s communications office, according to state news agency IRNA.

His remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump’s speech during a tour of Arab capitals where he accused Iranian leaders of decades of “neglect and mismanagement,” saying they had turned “green farmland into dry deserts” and allowed the country’s infrastructure to collapse.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday that his Iranian counterpart had assured him Tehran would not build a nuclear weapon, describing such a guarantee as a fundamental condition for progress in the ongoing nuclear talks.

“Certainly this is not an easy negotiation. Guarantees are needed from Iran that it will not build a nuclear weapon. That is the conditio sine qua non, and Iran’s foreign minister assured me that it will not happen,” Tajani said, according to Italian news agency Adnkronos.

Tajani also expressed concern over Iran’s uranium enrichment activities, saying he hoped Tehran “does not make reckless decisions” on the matter.

Tajani added that the Italian government fully supports the Oman-led mediation and expressed hope that holding the fifth round of Iran–US nuclear negotiations in Rome signals a reduction in tensions.