TEHRAN:
Iran on Thursday reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium, saying it was “unshakable”, on the eve of key talks with European powers threatening to reimpose nuclear sanctions.
Friday’s meeting, set to take place in Istanbul, will be the first since Israel’s mid-June attack targeting key nuclear and military sites in the Islamic republic sparked a 12-day war.
The United States joined its ally Israel in the offensive, striking three Iranian nuclear facilities overnight between June 21 and 22.
“Especially after the recent war, it is important for them to understand that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s position remains unshakable, and that our uranium enrichment will continue,” said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “We will not give up this right of the Iranian people,” he said, quoted by Tasnim news agency.
The hostilities between Iran and Israel broke out just two days before Tehran and Washington were set to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Britain, France and Germany — alongside China, Russia and the United States — are parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which placed major restrictions on its atomic activities in return for the gradual lifting of UN sanctions.
However, in 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Donald Trump’s first term as president and reimposed its own sanctions.
Britain, France and Germany maintained their support for the 2015 accord and sought to continue trade with Iran, meaning UN and EU sanctions were not reinstated.
