Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran will continue its uranium enrichment program regardless of whether a nuclear deal with the US is reached — just hours after the Trump administration slammed any form of enrichment as a “red line.”
Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said US officials were free to say whatever they wanted on TV, but Iran will never deviate from its goal of enriching uranium, which Tehran insists is meant for nuclear energy plants rather than bombs.
“If the U.S. is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome,” Araghchi wrote on X Sunday. “Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal.”
“Our stance on Iran’s rights as a NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) member is crystal clear, and there is no scenario in which Iranians will permit deviance from that,” he added.
Araghchi’s comments came just hours after US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff insisted that any form of enrichment represented a “red line” in the nuclear talks with Iran.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff told ABC’s “This Week.”
“Everything begins … with a deal that does not include enrichment … because enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here,” he added.
While Trump administration officials had initially claimed Iran could keep a civilian enrichment program focusing on nuclear energy, Witkoff has taken a tough stance against all forms of enrichment since the talks with Iran began.
Iran’s refusal to accept that stance is likely to create friction with President Trump, who claimed Friday that Iran was close to accepting his nuclear deal proposal.
Trump warned that Tehran had to move quickly to accept the proposal or “something bad is going to happen,” alluding to his previous threats of military action if a deal is not reached.
Trump has previously vowed to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities if a deal is not reached, a threat that Tehran has repeatedly brushed off.
Iran’s nuclear program has become the subject of worry following warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran was growing its enriched uranium stockpile and approaching the threshold needed to achieve nuclear weapons.