Iran insists on uranium enrichment as key talks loom
"We will not sign a nuclear agreement if the authorities of the United States demand that we cease uranium enrichment," declared Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before the next round of negotiations, which is set to take place on Friday in Rome.
American officials have stated that uranium enrichment in Iran "must come to a complete end, and if that is their goal, there will be no agreement," Araghchi said in an interview broadcast by the state television.
The authorities of the United States have reiterated in recent days their demand that Iran's nuclear programme be subject to a complete ban on uranium enrichment. Washington argues that if Tehran possesses such capability, it will pursue the creation of nuclear weapons.
The West accuses Tehran of secretly developing the capabilities necessary for the production of nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this, asserting that its nuclear programme is purely civilian in nature.
Friday's talks in Rome will be the fifth round of negotiations between Iran and the USA on a potential nuclear agreement. In May, Reuters reported via sources that its provisions could be very similar to the JCPOA agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and world powers.
The USA intensified sanctions against Tehran
U.S. President Donald Trump, during his first presidential term in 2018, withdrew the USA from this agreement, deeming it too lenient towards Iran. Since then, the United States has intensified sanctions against Tehran, which also departed from the agreement by exceeding the 3.67 per cent uranium enrichment limit.
As a result, Iran has recently significantly increased its stockpiles of this fuel at a purity of 60 per cent, which can be relatively quickly enriched to a 90 per cent level, enabling the production of atomic weapons.
