Tehran – Iran has repeatedly said that uranium enrichment remains a red line in nuclear negotiations with the US, and a spokesman for Tehran’s Foreign Ministry has emphasized that Washington appears to acknowledge this position.
“If we’re meant to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is not weaponized, I think that’s just something we can do,” said Esmail Baghhai, who spoke to Tehran’s CNN on Monday.
He emphasized that Iran’s rights to peaceful nuclear energy are unnegotiable. This is a position that the Islamic Republic has consistently maintained through years of diplomatic involvement.
“If (our) intention is to deprive Iranians of their right to peaceful nuclear energy, then as long as I think it really challenges the whole process,” he warned.
The statement follows the conclusion of a fifth round indirect US-Iran nuclear talk held in Rome last Friday. The debate urged cautious optimism from US President Donald Trump, and he noticed signs of progress.
“We talked very well with Iran yesterday and today. Let’s see what happens. But I think there’s good news on the Iranian front,” Trump left for Washington after telling New Jersey reporters on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi described the latest consultation as “one of the most specialized rounds of negotiations” to date, but acknowledged that some important issues have not been resolved. “It’s too complicated to resolve two or three meetings,” he said.
While the Trump administration maintains a firm, public stance calling for a halt of all uranium enrichment, an activity central to both energy production and potential weapons development, Bagaei suggested that US negotiators may be taking a more practical approach behind closed doors.
“The fact that we have been in discussion so far means we understand that Iran has a certain level of understanding that under no circumstances can its right to peaceful nuclear energy,” he said.
Baghaei also expressed optimism that mutually beneficial agreements could be reached. “If you really have the will, there’s a way,” he said. “There are not just one method, but so many.”
He rejected the continued threat of the Israeli regime to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, and insisted that Tehran would not succumb to the threat.
“Iranians will not be encouraged by any kind of pressure,” he said. “When it comes to using that language, Iranians will bring one voice. We certainly protect national security.”
In a recent speech, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Revolution, denounced us for his efforts to pressure Iran to concentrate. He called such a request “completely wrong” and argued that the Islamic Republic does not need permission from foreign forces to pursue its peaceful nuclear program.
Since April, Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of indirect negotiations in Muscat, the capital of Rome and Oman. Iranian officials frequently criticized the US for changing their position during consultations, arguing that such “contradictory” actions undermined the diplomatic process.
During his first term (2017–2021), President Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear agreement (the 2015 nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Calling the agreement “one-sided,” Trump reconsidered the broader US sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran began to reduce its voluntary compliance with its trade and expanded its nuclear energy programme within the framework of international safeguards.