US President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed surprise at Tehran’s continued insistence on uranium enrichment despite last month’s American airstrikes on its nuclear facilities, vowing to block any attempt by Iran to maintain the program.
"Iran has been very nasty with their words, with their mouth. They got the hell knocked out of them, and they, I don't think they know it. I actually don't think they know," Trump told reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with the president of the European Commission.
"The whole thing's a con job. We have a lot of con jobs going on. But Iran was beaten up very badly, for good reason. We cannot have them have a nuclear weapon," he added.
On June 22, Trump ordered airstrikes against Iran's nuclear sites in Fordow, Esfahan and Natanz, capping off a surprise military campaign by Israel which killed hundreds of people, including military personnel, nuclear scientists, and civilians.
The 12-day Israeli war on Iran was launched following the 60-day deadline set by Trump for Iran to reach a deal with the West over its disputed nuclear program.
Uranium enrichment was one of the US conditions for the possible deal, but Iran has long been insisting on maintaining its enrichment program, even in the aftermath of last month’s conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News earlier this week that the country will not abandon its uranium enrichment program, calling it both a scientific achievement and a matter of national pride.
“Our enrichment is so dear to us,” he said. “Obviously we cannot give up our enrichment, because it is an achievement of our own scientists and now more than that, it is a question of national pride.”
Trump on Sunday expressed surprise at Iran's insistence on enrichment after what Araghchi called "serious and severe" damage to its nuclear infrastructure.
"They still talk about enrichment. I mean, who would do that? You just come out of something that's so bad, and they talk about, we want to continue enrichment. Who would say that? How stupid can you be to say that?"
Trump vowed that his administration is "not going to allow that to happen."
Iran’s uranium enrichment program has long been a source of international tension. While Tehran maintains that the program is for peaceful purposes, the UN nuclear watchdog argues that enriching uranium to high levels of purity lacks any civilian justification.
