Foreign Minister Aragut has argued that Iran’s nuclear activities are essentially civilians.
Iran defended its right to enrich uranium and doubled its long-standing stance as the next nuclear negotiations with the US in Oman suddenly fell behind.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi went to social media on Saturday to declare that “Iran has all rights to fully own the nuclear fuel cycle,” referring to the country’s membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He emphasized Iran’s claim that its nuclear activity is essentially civilian, “there are “several NPT members who enrich uranium while completely denialing nuclear weapons.”
“The greatest positioning and inflammatory rhetoric achieve nothing but erode the chances of success,” Araguchi added, in relation to the US position that Iran must stop all enrichment activities.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Iran to stop enrichment efforts, claiming that “the only country that enriches uranium is a country that has nuclear weapons.” However, countries such as Germany, Japan and Brazil are also enriching nuclear weapons without owning them.
Comments were postponed after indirect talks in the fourth round between Washington and Tehran, originally scheduled for Saturday.
I generally refrain from airing discussions about key negotiation elements through the media.
What I say is that repeating falsehoods does not change the fundamental facts. As the founding signatories of the NPT, Iran has all the rights to own a full nuclear fuel cycle. Plus, there…
– Sain Abbas Aragchi (@araghchi) May 2, 2025
Oman, acting as a mediator, cited the “logistical reasons” for the delay. The new date remains unconfirmed, and one Iranian official told Reuters it relied on a “US approach.”
The set-off came after a new wave of US sanctions linked to Iran’s oil sales, and advocated continued support for Yemen’s Hooti rebels. Tehran responded by accusing Washington of sending “contradictory messages” that undermined diplomacy.
France added uncertainty earlier this week, with Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrott claiming Iran is “on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons.”
Iran, who claims it does not seek bombs, has consistently maintained a nuclear program that complies with IAEA surveillance.
Araghchi repeated that Iran’s rich rights are “unnegotiable” as IAEA chief Rafael Grossi proposed on Wednesday that Iran’s rich material could be dissolved or exported if the contract was reached.
The diplomatic deadlock comes as we consider whether global forces can still be achieved by reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which collapsed after the US under the first President Donald Trump term, by reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which was still mediated by a world power that unilaterally abandoned in 2018.
In a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran cut its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
