Iran remains firm on uranium: No enrichment suspension for nuclear deal
Iran will not cease uranium enrichment, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced. According to the authorities in Tehran, it is an "inseparable part of Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program and the nuclear industry, and it must absolutely be preserved."
Iran will not agree to temporarily suspend uranium enrichment to reach a nuclear agreement with the United States, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated at a press conference on Monday.
Enrichment is an inseparable part of Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program and the nuclear industry, and it must absolutely be preserved, as cited by the Mehrnews portal.
He added that the date and place for the next round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States have not yet been determined.
"Some progress"
The fifth round of U.S.-Iran talks on Tehran's nuclear program, which took place on Friday in Rome, ended with "some but not conclusive progress," stated Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is mediating the negotiations.
The United States government reiterated in recent days its demand that the Iranian nuclear program be placed under a complete ban on uranium enrichment. Washington argues that with such a capability, Tehran will strive to create nuclear weapons.
The West accuses Iran of secretly developing capabilities necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran denies this, asserting that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
