Iran won’t retaliate against U.S. — but will keep enriching uranium, top official says
Tehran – Iran will not retaliate more for the United States attacks on its nuclear program, said a government official on Thursday, saying that his country was open to negotiations with Washington but did not intend to stop the enrichment of uranium.
In an interview with NBC News in Tehran, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said that the United States had caused “serious damage” to Iran’s nuclear program with what he called “a naked act of aggression” on June 21.
Two days later, Iran launched a missile attack on an American military base in Oman. This saw certain diverted flights from the international hub of Doha, in the United Arab Emirates, but no one was injured and President Donald Trump called him “very weak”.
When asked if Iran had planned new reprisals, Takht-Ravanchi said: “As long as there is no act of aggression perpetrated by the United States against us, we will not answer.”
The American attack followed Israel strikes launched on June 12 which not only targeted Iran’s nuclear program, but killed dozens of senior military officials and nuclear scientists, as well as nearly 1,000 civilians, including 38 children, says Iran.
Iran responded with missiles that have rained on Tel Aviv and in other cities, killing 38 people, according to Israeli officials.
The exchange of missiles came while Iran was in negotiations with Trump on its nuclear program, which it agreed to reduce the part of a 2015 agreement, but which then collapsed after the American president moved away.
Takht-Ravanchi asked “How can we trust the Americans?” After attacks during these negotiations. “We want them to explain why they misled us, why they took such a blatant action against our people,” he added.
Despite this, he suggested that his nation would be open to new discussions if these requests were satisfied.
“We are for diplomacy” and “we are for dialogue,” he said, but the American government needs “to convince us that they will not use military force while we negotiate,” he said. “This is an essential element for our leadership to decide on the future series of talks.”
Iran denies that it wishes to build a nuclear bomb, and as a signatory to the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, commonly known as TNP, it is entitled to the enrichment of uranium for nuclear power plants.
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency and others are concerned with the enrichment of uranium by Iran at 60% – almost 90% necessary to make a bomb – which he started to do after Trump moved away from the 2015 nuclear agreement.
When asked if Iran was planning to continue, Takht-Ravanchi said: “Our policy has not changed their enrichment.” Under TNP, “Iran has the right to make an enrichment in its territory,” he said. “The only thing we have to observe is not to opt for militarization.”
Iran, he said, “ready to engage with others to talk about the scope, level, capacity of our enrichment program”.
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, suggested that the 880 pounds of uranium very enriched by Iran may have been moved elsewhere before the attacks. Takht-Ravanchi refused to comment.
“I don’t know where these materials are, and I will stop there,” he said.
