Iran defies U.S. threats, won't give up uranium enrichment

PARIS, France (AFP) — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States.

The minister, Abbas Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by Agence France-Presse, that Tehran had little trust in Washington and even doubted that the United States side was taking renewed negotiations seriously.

“Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behavior,” Araghchi said.

“Their military deployment in the region does not scare us,” he said, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea.

The US and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday, for the first time in years, in Oman.

Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear program.”

Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East’s only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb, which the Islamic republic denies.

“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.

‘Peace through strength’

Araghchi’s comments came after US lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the aircraft carrier on Saturday, signalling the persistent threat of US military action against Iran.

The US military’s Central Command said the two top officials visited the nuclear-powered vessel.

In a social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group was “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength.”

The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks “very good” and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media that they “constitute a step forward.”

Following Friday’s first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing business with Iran despite US sanctions.

The US also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.