Iran Won’t Abandon Enrichment: FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reiterated that Tehran will by no means give up its uranium enrichment program, which he hailed as a local achievement.
"Iran will not give up nuclear enrichment,” Araqchi confirmed in exclusive interview with Fox News.
Asked why Iran would not import enriched uranium as part of a deal, Araqchi said, “Well, because this is an achievement, a scientific achievement that we have achieved by ourselves. Why we should import something that we can produce by ourselves?”
Responding to comments from Fox News’ Bret Baier that Iran has taken the uranium enrichment levels to 90 percent or 60 percent instead of 35 percent, the foreign minister said, “No, no, no. We never go to 90 percent. We remain committed to below 5 percent for, you know, to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. And we also enriched up to 20 percent because we have a research reactor in Tehran, which is called Tehran Research Reactor, TRR. So we are enriching uranium for our own needs. And we once went up to 60%, and that was after the sabotage in our nuclear facilities. And then we, you know, go up to 60%. But I was a negotiator at that time. I told our interlocutors that we immediately go down if a nuclear deal is achieved.”
Asked if the Israeli and US military strikes have caused any damage to the Iranian nuclear facilities and if Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities have stopped, Araqchi said, “It is now stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously, we cannot give up our enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now more than that, it is a question of national pride. Our enrichment is so dear to us.”
In response to a question why Iran has installed its nuclear facilities in underground sites, Araqchi said, “Because of the constant threats by Israelis, by the United States in the past, we had no way but to protect our facilities and to protect our material and protect our scientists. So my message to the United States is that let's go for a negotiated solution for Iran's nuclear program.”
