Latest news with #MajidTakhtRavanchi


News24
2 days ago
- Politics
- News24
Trump says he's not offering Iran 'anything', nor speaking to them
Trump says the US 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear sites and denies offering talks. Iran demands that the US rules out further strikes before any negotiations. Tehran insists on the right to enrich uranium, calling US threats the 'law of the jungle'. US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not offering Iran anything nor talking to it 'since we totally obliterated' the country's nuclear facilities. 'I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'Nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities.' The statement comes as Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC that talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signalled it wants to return to the negotiating table a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. Takht-Ravanchi said: We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality. 'Right now, we are seeking an answer to this question. Are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?' The US needs to be 'quite clear on this very important question', he said. The two countries were in talks over Tehran's nuclear programme when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure this month, with the US joining by bombing three nuclear sites - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - on 21 June. The deputy minister revealed to the BBC that the US had signalled it did 'not want to engage in regime change' by targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran should still be allowed to enrich uranium. He said: The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle. Israel claims that Iran's nuclear programme is close to producing a bomb, whereas Tehran says it is for peaceful purposes. It is not clear yet how much damage the strikes inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities, which Trump has said were 'totally obliterated'. UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran would probably be able to begin to produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months'. Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know how long it would take. Under a 2015 deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium below 3.67% purity for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018, and Iran responded by producing uranium enriched to 60% - above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.


Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Tehran says US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks
Tehran has demanded that Washington rule out fresh strikes on Iran ahead of further talks on its nuclear programme. Iran's deputy foreign minster Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC re-engagement was proposed for this week, but the US had not stated its position on the 'very important question' of attacks on Iran, nor created 'confidence required for such a dialogue'. He said Iran's Gulf allies were 'doing their best to prepare the necessary atmosphere for a dialogue'. Mr Takht-Ravanchi criticised the'ridiculous' support of European leaders for US and Israeli strikes and for trying 'to justify the aggression'. It was 'not quite clear' whether the ceasefire with Israel would hold, but Iran would abide by it 'as long as there is no military attack against us', he said. 'We do not want war. We want to engage in dialogue and diplomacy, but we have to be prepared, we have to be cautious, not to be surprised again.' READ MORE Two days before the sixth round of Oman-mediated Iran-US talks were scheduled for June 15th, Israel bombed Iranian nuclear sites and military facilities. Iran replied with ballistic missiles and drones. During the resulting 12-day air war, about 610 Iranians were killed and 4,746 injured, while 29 Israelis were killed and 3,458 wounded, according to their respective health ministries. [ US intelligence report says strikes on Iran did not destroy two nuclear sites despite Trump claims Opens in new window ] A ceasefire was called after the US bombed Fordow, Nantz, and Isfahan, Iran's three main nuclear sites. While the US has claimed they have been 'obliterated', International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran could resume enriching uranium 'in a matter of months'. Talks have stalled over Tehran's insistence on domestic enrichment for peaceful purposes while the US has demanded 'zero' enrichment within Iran. Mr Takht-Ravanchi said the level of enrichment 'can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you – that is the law of the jungle.' Under a 2015 agreement, Iran could enrich uranium to 3.67 per cent, its stockpile was limited, and the IAEA closely monitored and inspected Iranian facilities. Sanctions were partially lifted, giving a boost to Iran's strangled economy. US president Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions. [ US-Iran: How badly damaged was Iran's nuclear programme? Intelligence on strikes sparks political tempest Opens in new window ] In 2019, Iran breached the terms of the deal, enriching uranium to 60 per cent, and thus getting nearer to the 90 per cent required for weapons. Last month, the IAEA said Iran had amassed a stockpile of 400kg of this highly enriched uranium - enough for five bombs, according to experts. In such circumstances, if Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were to approve it, the process of weaponisation and bombmaking could take just months. Mr Takht-Ravanchi argued that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call for 'regime change' by targeting the Ayatollah was 'tantamount to a futile exercise'. While he admitted Iranians might criticise the government, 'when it comes to foreign attack, Iranians would unite 'to confront it'.


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump not offering Iran ‘anything' after nuclear site strikes, nor speaking to Tehran
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not offering Iran anything nor talking to it 'since we totally obliterated' the country's nuclear facilities. 'I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama,' Trump wrote on social media. 'Nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities.' The statement comes as Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC that talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signalled it wants to return to the negotiating table, a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. 'We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality,' Takht-Ravanchi said.


Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US must rule out more strikes before talks can resume: Iran
Diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran, its deputy foreign minister told the BBC late Sunday. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signaled it wants to return to the negotiating table, a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. 'We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality,' said Takht-Ravanchi. 'Right now we are seeking an answer to this question. Are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?' The US needed to be 'quite clear on this very important question,' he said. The two countries were in talks over Tehran's nuclear program when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure earlier this month, with the US joining by bombing three nuclear sites -- Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan -- on June 21. The deputy minister revealed to the BBC that the US had signaled it did 'not want to engage in regime change' by targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran should still be allowed to enrich uranium. 'The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle,' he said. Israel claims that Iran's nuclear program is close to producing a bomb, whereas Tehran says it is for peaceful purposes. It is not clear yet how much damage the strikes inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities, which US President Donald Trump had said were 'totally obliterated.' UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran would probably be able to begin to produce enriched uranium 'in a matter of months.' Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know how long it would take. Under a 2015 deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium below 3.67 percent purity for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 and Iran responded by producing uranium enriched to 60 percent -- above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.


Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
US must rule out more strikes before talks can resume, says Iran
Diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran cannot resume unless the US rules out further strikes on Iran, its deputy foreign minister told the BBC late Sunday. Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the British broadcaster that the US had signalled it wants to return to the negotiating table, a week after it struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. "We have not agreed to any date, we have not agreed to the modality," said Takht-Ravanchi. "Right now we are seeking an answer to this question. Are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?" The US needed to be "quite clear on this very important question", he said. The two countries were in talks over Tehran's nuclear programme when Israel hit Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure earlier this month, with the US joining by bombing three nuclear sites -- Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan -- on June 21. The deputy minister revealed to the BBC that the US had signalled it did "not want to engage in regime change" by targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran should still be allowed to enrich uranium. "The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle," he said. Israel claims that Iran's nuclear programme is close to producing a bomb, whereas Tehran says it is for peaceful purposes. It is not clear yet how much damage the strikes inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities, which US President Donald Trump had said were "totally obliterated". UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran would probably be able to begin to produce enriched uranium "in a matter of months". Takht-Ravanchi said he did not know how long it would take. Under a 2015 deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium below 3.67 percent purity for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 and Iran responded by producing uranium enriched to 60 percent -- above levels for civilian usage but still below weapons grade. That material, if further refined, would theoretically be sufficient to produce more than nine nuclear bombs.