Latest news with #European powers
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran refuses to abandon nuclear programme
Iran will not abandon its nuclear programme despite 'severe' damage caused by US and Israeli air strikes, its foreign minister said. Abbas Araghchi conceded late on Monday that uranium enrichment had 'stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe', ahead of renewed talks with European powers. But Mr Araghchi told Fox News: 'Obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists.' He called the programme a source of 'national pride'. Iran is due to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday to discuss its uranium enrichment programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering the significant 2015 nuclear deal. The meeting will be the first since Iran's 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the US bombed three of its critical nuclear facilities, including the Fordow underground enrichment site. Mr Araghchi stressed that any future nuclear deal would have to contain the right to enrichment. Asked if any near-bomb-grade uranium had been saved from the strikes, he claimed he had 'no detailed information' but said Iran's atomic energy organisation was still 'trying to evaluate' what happened to the enriched nuclear material. Donald Trump, the US president, has repeatedly claimed the air strikes 'obliterated' the sites and lashed out against media reports citing US intelligence findings that the attacks set back Iran's nuclear program only by months, rather than destroying it. Mr Agarachi said: 'Yes, facilities have been destroyed. They are severely destroyed. But the technology is there, our nuclear program, our enrichment program, is not something imported from outside that can be destroyed by bombings.' Donald Trump quickly responded to Mr Araghchi's comments, threatening on social media to 'do it again, if necessary!' Weapons programme Western powers have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production. But some in the Iranian regime view atomic weapons as a deterrent against perceived threats. Iran had made progress recently, with experts fearing that it was within sprinting distance of enriching uranium to bomb grade before the Israeli and US strikes. However, Israeli and US officials believe some of Iran's stockpile of 60 per cent enriched uranium survived the attacks and could be salvaged by Tehran. Britain, France and Germany remain part of a 2015 nuclear deal also signed by the Obama administration, China and Russia that imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement unravelled in 2018 when Mr Trump withdrew during his first term and reimposed sweeping sanctions. The three European powers have threatened to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran by the end of August unless there is progress towards limiting its nuclear programme. The agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline. Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April but the negotiations ended after Israel launched its surprise strikes on Iran on June 13. 'At present, we have no plans to hold talks with the United States,' Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry. Tehran will also host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ahead of new talks, Iran blames Europeans for nuclear deal collapse
Tehran on Monday blamed European powers for the failure of the 2015 nuclear deal, accusing them of breaking commitments ahead of renewed talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany. The 2015 agreement -- reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany -- imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Donald Trump's first term as president, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Though Europe pledged continued support, the mechanism to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis. "Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday's talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany on the deal's future. Tehran will also host a trilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would "continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes in account the legitimate concerns of all parties". In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments. Germany said the Istanbul talks would be at the expert level, with the European trio working "flat out" to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution. "If no solution is reached by the end of August... the snapback also remains an option for the E3," said its foreign ministry spokesman, Martin Giese. A clause in the 2015 agreement allows for UN sanctions on Iran to be reimposed through a "snapback" mechanism in the event of non-compliance. However, the agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline. - 'No intention of speaking with America' - The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far beyond the 3.67 percent cap set by the 2015 accord. That is a short step from the 90 percent enrichment required for a nuclear weapon. Using the snapback clause was "meaningless, unjustifiable and immoral", Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only began distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western non-compliance. "Iran's reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement," he said. Western powers -- led by the United States and backed by Israel, Iran's arch-enemy -- have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons capability. Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production. Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks since April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, triggering a 12-day conflict. "At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America," Baqaei said Monday. Israel launched on June 13 a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, targeting key military and nuclear facilities. The United States launched its own set of strikes against Iran's nuclear programme on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz. bur-sbr/dv/jsa Solve the daily Crossword
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Ahead of new talks, Iran blames Europeans for nuclear deal collapse
Tehran on Monday blamed European powers for the failure of the 2015 nuclear deal, accusing them of breaking their commitments ahead of renewed talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany. The 2015 deal, reached between Iran and the UN Security Council's permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Donald Trump's first term as president, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reimposed sweeping sanctions. The Europeans had pledged continued support for the deal, but the mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never materialised effectively and many Western firms were forced to exit Iran, which has since faced a deepening economic crisis. "The European parties have been at fault and negligent in implementing" the nuclear agreement, said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei. His remarks come ahead of a meeting Friday in Istanbul between Iranian officials and representatives from Britain, France and Germany to discuss the future of the nuclear deal. Ahead of those talks, Baqaei said Tehran would host a trilateral meeting on Tuesday about the nuclear issue and the potential reimposition of sanctions with Chinese and Russian representatives. In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to trigger the UN "snapback" mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments. A German diplomatic source had told AFP on Sunday the E3 were in contact with Tehran and said "Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon". "That is why Germany, France and the United Kingdom are continuing to work intensively in the E3 format to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear programme," the source said. - 'No intention of speaking with America' - The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60 percent -- far beyond the 3.67 percent cap set by the 2015 accord. That is a short step from the 90 percent enrichment required for a nuclear weapon. Using the snapback clause was "meaningless, unjustifiable and immoral", Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only began distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western non-compliance. "Iran's reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement," he said. Western powers -- led by the United States and backed by Israel, Iran's arch-enemy -- have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons capability. Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production. Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks since April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched a military strike on Iran on June 13, triggering a 12-day conflict. "At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America," Baqaei said Monday. Israel launched on June 13 a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, targeting key military and nuclear facilities. The United States launched its own set of strikes against Iran's nuclear programme on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.
