Iran defiant as nuclear talks with U.S. stall over uranium dispute
"We will not sign a nuclear agreement if the United States demands that we cease uranium enrichment," declared Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragczi before the next round of negotiations 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," Aragczi said in an interview broadcast by state television.
U.S. authorities have reiterated in recent days their demand for Iran's nuclear program to be subject to a complete ban on uranium enrichment. Washington argues that with this capability, Tehran could 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 program is purely civilian in nature.
Friday's talks in Rome will be the fifth round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. on a potential nuclear agreement. In May, Reuters reported through sources that its provisions could be very similar to the JCPOA agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and world powers.
The U.S. intensified sanctions against Tehran
In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 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% uranium enrichment limit.
As a result, Iran has recently significantly increased its stockpiles of this fuel to a purity of 60%, which can be relatively quickly enriched to a 90% level, enabling the production of atomic weapons.
