Iran signals openness to transfers of enriched uranium abroad
TEHRAN: Iran could transfer its stocks of enriched uranium to another country in the event of an agreement with the United States on Tehran's nuclear programme, Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said on Saturday, according to news site Al-Monitor.
A transfer of 20 per cent and 60 per cent enriched uranium would not be a red line for Tehran, Iravani said, adding that the material could alternatively remain in Iran under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision.
However, he stressed that Iran would not renounce its right to domestic uranium production, a condition the United States firmly rejects.
Iravani also ruled out any restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile programme and reiterated that a new agreement would hinge, among other conditions, on the lifting of international sanctions.
His remarks come hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X late Friday that Iran is fundamentally willing to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States, though he urged US President Donald Trump to moderate his tone.
"If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers," Araghchi said. "Good will begets good will and respect begets respect".
Trump recently said that new talks with Iran would take place "next week," though he offered no further details. Several previous rounds of negotiations between Washington and Tehran have failed to yield an agreement.
Earlier this month, tensions escalated sharply when Israel, accusing Iran of fast-approaching a point of no return in its goal of obtaining atomic weapons, carried out strikes on nuclear sites, defence positions, cities and energy infrastructure during a 12-daywar.
More than 20 high-ranking Iranian military officials were killed, some in their homes. The US also intervened with a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump later said the attacks had set back Iran's nuclear programme by years and when asked if he would strike again should uranium enrichment continue, he replied in the affirmative, insisting Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.
In response to the attacks, the Iranian parliament passed a law this week suspending cooperation with the IAEA. However, Tehran has not formally notified the agency and experts warn that negotiations cannot proceed without the IAEA's technical oversight.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is intended solely for civilian purposes.
The IAEA believes Iran has managed to produce 400 kilogrammes of uranium with a purity level of 60 per cent.
Experts say this could be used to produce several nuclear weapons if the material were further enriched to 90 per cent. It is unclear what happened to the stockpile in the wake of the attacks by Israel and the US.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
2 hours ago
- Observer
IAEA: Iran could be enriching uranium within months
GENEVA: Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi (pictured) was quoted as saying on Sunday, raising doubts about how effective US strikes to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme have been. US officials have stated that their strikes obliterated key nuclear sites in Iran, although US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels. "The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi told CBS News in an interview. "Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," he added, according to the transcript of an interview on "Face the Nation" with Margaret Brennan due to air on Sunday. Saying it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons, Israel launched attacks on Iran earlier this month, igniting a 12-day air war that the US eventually joined. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Grossi, who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the strikes on sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had significantly set back Iran's ability to convert and enrich uranium. However, Western powers stress that Iran's nuclear advances provide it with an irreversible knowledge gain, suggesting that while losing experts or facilities may slow progress, the advances are permanent. "Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology," Grossi said. "So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have." Grossi was also asked about reports of Iran moving its stock of highly enriched uranium in the run-up to the US strikes and said it was not clear where that material was. "So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved," he said. — Reuters
Times of Oman
3 hours ago
- Times of Oman
EAM Jaishankar to visit US to participate in QUAD Foreign Minister's Meeting: MEA
New Delhi: Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will pay a visit to the US at the invitation of US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio to participate in the QUAD Foreign Minister's Meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in an official statement. EAM will also inaugurate an exhibition at the UN Headquarters highlighting the toll of terrorist acts around the world and the steps taken by the international community to combat them. According to MEA, EAM Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to the United States of America from June 30 to July 2 to participate in the next edition of the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting (QFMM), scheduled for July 1. MEA underlined in its statement that the Quad Foreign Ministers will build upon the discussions held during the last QFMM, which took place in Washington DC earlier this year on January 21. Notably, the Foreign Ministers will exchange views on regional and global developments, particularly those concerning the Indo-Pacific, and review the progress made on various Quad initiatives in the run-up to the Quad Leaders' Summit, which will be hosted by India. The Ministers are also expected to deliberate on new proposals aimed at advancing the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. "EAM will also be inaugurating an exhibition titled, "The Human Cost of Terrorism" at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on 30 June 2025. The Exhibition will highlight the devastating toll of heinous terrorist acts around the world, and the steps taken by the international community to combat terrorism.", the MEA said in its statement. On Thursday (US local time), during the US State Department's briefing, the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for US Department of State Tommy Pigott announced that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio will host the Foreign Ministers from the QUAD countries on July 1 in Washington DC for the QUAD Foreign Ministers Meeting. Pigott said, "Next week, Secretary Rubio will host foreign Ministers from Australia, India and Japan for the 2025 Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting on July 1 in Washington, DC. The secretary's first diplomatic engagement was with the Quad, and next week's summit builds on that momentum to advance a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific. This is what American leadership looks like: strength, peace and prosperity". The QUAD is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient. The QUAD's origins date back to our collaboration in response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Earlier in January, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on his first day in office, hosted the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan for a significant meeting of the QUAD alliance. In a joint statement, the Foreign ministers of QUAD countries reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific where "sovereignty and territorial integrity are upheld and defended." The Quad nations also expressed strong opposition "to any unilateral actions aimed at changing the status quo through force or coercion."
Observer
13 hours ago
- Observer
Fresh truce in Gaza likely
DOHA: Gaza mediators are engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from this week's ceasefire with Iran and work towards a truce in the Palestinian territory, Qatar foreign ministry spokesman Majed al Ansari said. Israel and Iran on Tuesday agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States and Qatar just hours after the Islamic republic launched a salvo of missiles towards Doha, targeting the American military base hosted there. The unprecedented attack on Qatari soil followed Washington's intervention into a days-long war between Israel and Iran which saw US warplanes strike Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting promises of retaliation from Tehran. In an interview with AFP on Friday, Al Ansari said Doha — with fellow Gaza mediators in Washington and Cairo — was now "trying to use the momentum that was created by the ceasefire between Iran and Israel to restart the talks on Gaza". "If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost amongst many in the near past. We don't want to see that again," the spokesman, who is also an adviser to Qatar's prime minister, said. US President Donald Trump voiced optimism on Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza saying an agreement involving Israel and Hamas could come as early as next week. Mediators have been engaged in months of back-and-forth negotiations with the warring parties aimed at ending 20 months of war in Gaza, with Al Ansari explaining there were no current talks between the sides but that Qatar was "heavily involved in talking to every side separately". A two-month truce, which was agreed as Trump came into office in January, collapsed in March with Israel intensifying military operations in Gaza afterwards. "We have seen US pressure and what it can accomplish," Al Ansari said referring to the January truce which saw dozens of hostages held by Hamas released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The Qatari official said particularly in the context of US enforcement of the Israel-Iran truce, it was "not a far-fetched idea" that pressure from Washington would achieve a fresh truce in Gaza. "We are working with them very, very closely to make sure that the right pressure is applied from the international community as a whole, especially from the US, to see both parties at the negotiating table," Al Ansari said. As part of such an agreement, the remaining hostages from Israel in Gaza are expected to be released and many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are to be freed. — Agencies
