Foreign Minister Araghchi insists Iran\u2019s nuclear activities are civilian in nature.<\/p>\n
Iran has defended its right to enrich uranium, doubling down on a long-held stance as the next round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman were abruptly delayed.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to social media on Saturday to declare, \u201cIran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle,\u201d referencing the country\u2019s membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cThere are several NPT members which enrich uranium while wholly rejecting nuclear weapons,\u201d underlining Iran\u2019s argument that its nuclear activities are civilian in nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaximalist positioning and incendiary rhetoric achieve nothing except eroding the chances of success,\u201d added Araghchi, in reference to the US position that Iran must stop all enrichment activities.<\/p>\n
In a Thursday interview with Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Iran to halt its enrichment efforts, arguing, \u201cthe only countries in the world that enrich uranium are the ones that have nuclear weapons.\u201d However, countries like Germany, Japan and Brazil also conduct enrichment without possessing nuclear arsenals.<\/p>\n
The comments come after a fourth round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed.<\/p>\n
\nI generally refrain from airing arguments on key negotiation elements through the media. <\/p>\n
What I will say is that repeating falsehoods will not change basic facts. As a founding signatory to the NPT, Iran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle. Moreover, there\u2026<\/p>\n