Iran says nuclear enrichment ‘will never stop', amid warnings from IAEA & US

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Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, made it clear that Tehran will 'never stop' nuclear enrichment amid concerns from IAEA boss Rafael Grossi over the country's nuclear ambitions. read more
Amid the speculations over missing Uranium, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic's nuclear enrichment 'will never stop' because it is permitted for 'peaceful energy' purposes under the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
'The enrichment is our right, an inalienable right, and we want to implement this right,' the Iranian ambassador told CBS News. He insisted that Iran was ready for negotiation of a deal, but made it clear that 'unconditional surrender is not negotiation. It is dictating the policy toward us.'
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'Tehran is ready for the negotiation, but after this aggression, it is not a proper condition for a new round of the negotiation, and there is no request for negotiation and meeting with the president,' Iravani said. Iran's nuclear programme took a hit after Israel launched a barrage of strikes against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, insisting that the country was just weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran's envoy challenges Grossi's assessment
In the CBS News interview, the Iranian UN envoy also denied that there are any threats from his government to the safety of Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency or against any of the agency's inspectors. In the past, Iran has accused the IAEA officials of helping Israel justify its attacks.
It is pertinent to note that the IAEA inspectors are currently in Iran but do not have access to Iran's nuclear facilities. When pressed by CBS News on whether he would condemn calls for the arrest and execution of the IAEA head, which Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said a newspaper close to Iran's leader had made, Iravani gave an affirmative response.
'There is no threat,' Irvani said, but acknowledged that Iran's parliament had suspended cooperation with the IAEA. The inspectors, he said, 'are in Iran, they are in safe conditions, but the activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site … we assess that they have not done their jobs.'
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Iran refuses to surrender
When asked about why Tehran has not accepted the proposal for a diplomatic resolution of the issue, Iravani referred to Trump's 'unconditional surrender' demand and said that the 'US is dictating the policy towards us. If they are ready for negotiation, they will find us ready for that. But if they want to dictate to us, it is impossible for any negotiation with them.'
In the Sunday interview, the Iranian envoy made it clear that Tehran could transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium to another country in the event of an agreement with the United States on Tehran's nuclear program. The transfer of 20 and 60 per cent enriched uranium would not be a red line for Tehran, Iravai said.
He noted that this material could alternatively remain in Iran under IAEA supervision. However, he reiterated that Iran would not renounce its right to domestic uranium production, a condition the US rejects. The remarks from the Iranian envoy came days after Grossi told CBS News that there is 'agreement in describing this as a very serious level of damage'. He went on to warn that Iran will likely be able to begin to produce enriched uranium within months.
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