Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has ruled out surrendering uranium enrichment in negotiations with Washington, insisting Tehran will not be intimidated by threats of war from the United States.
Speaking at a forum in Tehran on Sunday, Araghchi said Iran had little trust in the US and doubted that Washington was approaching the renewed talks seriously. He added that Iran was consulting with strategic partners China and Russia on the discussions.
“Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour,” Araghchi said. “Their military deployment in the region does not scare us,” he added, referring to the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Nuclear negotiations
The US and Iran reopened talks on Friday in Oman, the first negotiations since Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran last June, which briefly involved the United States. Iran seeks the lifting of US economic sanctions in exchange for what Araghchi described as “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme”.
Western countries and Israel, the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state, suspect Iran of seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which Tehran denies. “They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.
The US and Israel have called for the talks to address Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups, which Iran refuses to include.
US military presence
US negotiators, including envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, visited the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday. The carrier was deployed as part of a US military buildup in the Middle East following President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran.
Witkoff said on social media that the carrier and its strike group were “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength.” Trump described the negotiations as “very good”, while Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said they represented “a step forward”.
Meanwhile, the US announced fresh tariffs on countries continuing to do business with Iran and new sanctions on shipping companies and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.
Araghchi criticised the ongoing sanctions and military actions, saying they “raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations.”
Crackdown on protests
The nuclear talks and US military presence coincide with Iran’s ongoing crackdown on anti-government protests sparked by economic grievances in late December.
On Sunday, authorities arrested three reformist figures, including Azar Mansouri, head of Iran’s Reform Front coalition, on charges including “targeting national unity” and “coordination with enemy propaganda”, according to Fars news agency.
Meanwhile, Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate, received six years in prison for harming national security and 18 months for “propaganda” against Iran’s Islamic system. She was arrested after speaking out at a funeral ceremony in December.
The Iranian government has acknowledged 3,117 deaths during the protests, publishing a list of 2,986 names, mostly security personnel and bystanders. International organisations estimate the toll is far higher. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports 6,961 verified deaths, mostly protesters, with another 11,630 cases under investigation, alongside more than 51,000 arrests.
