Araghchi uranium enrichment to continue 'with or without a deal' with US

Iran's enrichment program will continue with or without a deal with the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, ahead of the fifth round of talks.

In a statement posted on X, the lead Iranian nuclear negotiator said that if the US wants to ensure Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons, "a deal is within reach," referring to ongoing indirect nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman.

"We are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal," he stated.

Araghchi's statement came just hours after Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for West Asia, who is leading the American side in negotiations with Iran, said any deal between the two sides "must include an agreement not to enrich uranium."

"We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability," Witkoff said in an interview with ABC.

In response, Araghchi said Iran's stance on its "rights as an NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) member is crystal clear," adding that Iran will not allow "deviance from that."

"Mastering enrichment technology is a hard-earned and homegrown scientific achievement, an outcome of great sacrifice of both blood and treasure," he noted, referring to the country's nuclear enrichment.

Taking a swipe at his American counterpart, Iran's foreign minister said US interlocutors can publicly state "whatever they deem fit to ward off special interest groups and malign actors, which set the agenda of at least previous administrations."

"Iran can only control what we Iranians do, and that is to avoid negotiating in public—particularly given the current dissonance we are seeing between what our US interlocutors say in public and in private, and from one week to the other."

Earlier in the day, Araghchi said the fifth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US is expected to take place soon.

Following a meeting with his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, on the sidelines of the Tehran Dialogue Forum in the Iranian capital, he said the time and venue of the talks would be officially announced by Oman.

The most recent round of talks was held in Muscat on Sunday, where the two sides reportedly addressed contentious issues, according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.

As diplomatic engagement between the two countries continues under Omani mediation, disagreements over uranium enrichment remain a key sticking point.

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