Iranian Foreign Minister: Insisting on zero enrichment means "No to a deal"

Pars Today – The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in an interview with the Financial Times, demanded compensation for the damages inflicted during last month’s war against Iran and emphasized that the United States must compensate for the losses sustained during the 12-day war.

Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, questioned why the U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations, stating: “The U.S. must explain why it attacked us during talks, and it must provide assurances that such an event will not happen again.”

According to Pars Today quoting IRNA, Iran’s top diplomat noted in parts of the interview:

“Steve Whitcoff, the U.S. special envoy, and I exchanged messages during and after the war, and I told him that in order to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, we must find a win-win solution.”

Araghchi stressed: “As long as Donald Trump, the President of the United States, demands a complete halt to uranium enrichment in Iran, no agreement will be possible. However, Washington can raise its concerns through negotiations. We can talk; they can present their arguments, and we’ll present ours.”

Highlighting that “the path to negotiations is narrow but not impossible,” he added:

“Whitcoff has tried to convince me that a resolution is achievable and has proposed resuming talks. But we need genuine confidence-building measures from their side — measures that must include financial compensation and guarantees that Iran will not be attacked during renewed negotiations.”

Araghchi continued, saying: “My message is not complicated. The recent attack showed that there is no military solution to Iran’s nuclear program — but a diplomatic solution can be found. The Islamic Republic remains committed to its peaceful, civilian nuclear program, will not change its doctrine, and respects the 20-year-old fatwa by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, which prohibits the development of nuclear weapons.”

Referring to how the war has only deepened distrust of U.S. President Donald Trump, Araghchi added:

“Trump, during his first term, withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran had signed with the Obama administration and other world powers. Tehran still retains its uranium enrichment capabilities. Buildings can be rebuilt. Machines can be replaced — because the technology is available. We have plenty of scientists and technicians who used to work at our facilities.”

“But when and how we resume enrichment,” he said, “depends on the circumstances.”

MG