Iran is open to compromises on its nuclear program in talks with the United States, but uranium enrichment remains non-negotiable, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson told CNN, indicating Washington understands this position.
“If the intention is to make sure that Iran’s nuclear program would not be weaponized, I think that’s something that we could simply do,” Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign ministry, said in Tehran on Monday.
Asked by CNN how a compromise can be reached in talks, Baghaei said, “So many ways” without specifying.
However, he added that Iran’s right to nuclear energy would have to be protected, echoing the long-standing Iranian position on talks.
“If the (US’) intention is to deprive Iranians of their right to peaceful nuclear energy, I think that would be very problematic to the extent that I think it would really challenge the whole process,” he added.
After US-Iran talks inched forward with the fifth round of negotiations in Rome on Friday, President Donald Trump voiced optimism Sunday that progress was being made.
“We had some very good talks with Iran yesterday and today, and let’s see what happens. But I think we could have some good news on the Iran front,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey as he was preparing to return to Washington.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the talks “one of the most professional rounds of negotiations” yet but said the key issues were “too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings.”
While the Trump administration has been bullish on its demand that Tehran end all uranium enrichment – essential for both civilian and military nuclear applications – Baghaei said US negotiators’ behavior in talks suggests a softer approach.
“The fact that so far we have continued our talks means that we understand there is a certain level of understanding that Iran cannot under any circumstances give up its right to peaceful nuclear energy,” he said.
In March, Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog IAEA, said Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium had increased by half in three months. “Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching to this level, causing me serious concern,” he said.
Room for hope
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly dismissed the chances of a deal and goaded US negotiators ahead of Friday’s talks. “Try not to talk nonsense,” he urged them in a post attributed to him on his official website last week.
But Baghaei was optimistic about the chances of a US-Iranian accord, foreseeing a “win-win” for both sides. “If really there is a will, there’s ways,” he said. “There is not only one way, there are so many ways.”
Multiple American officials told CNN last week that the US has obtained new intelligence suggesting that Israel is preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities even as the Trump administration pursues a diplomatic deal with Tehran.
Baghaei said Iran was resolute before the threat of unilateral Israeli military strikes on Iran.
“Iranians would not be conducive to any sort of pressure,” he said. “When it comes to using that language, Iranians will come with one voice, and we will certainly defend our national security.”
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