Foreign Minister Araghchi insists Iran’s nuclear activities are civilian in nature.Iran has defended its right to enrich uranium, doubling down on a long-held stance as the next round of nuclear negotiations with the United States in Oman were abruptly delayed.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to social media on Saturday to declare, “Iran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle,” referencing the country’s membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He added, “There are several NPT members which enrich uranium while wholly rejecting nuclear weapons,” underlining Iran’s argument that its nuclear activities are civilian in nature.
“Maximalist positioning and incendiary rhetoric achieve nothing except eroding the chances of success,” added Araghchi, in reference to the US position that Iran must stop all enrichment activities.
In a Thursday interview with Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Iran to halt its enrichment efforts, arguing, “the only countries in the world that enrich uranium are the ones that have nuclear weapons.” However, countries like Germany, Japan and Brazil also conduct enrichment without possessing nuclear arsenals. Advertisement
The comments come after a fourth round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed.
I generally refrain from airing arguments on key negotiation elements through the media.
What I will say is that repeating falsehoods will not change basic facts. As a founding signatory to the NPT, Iran has every right to possess the full nuclear fuel cycle. Moreover, there…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 2, 2025
Oman, acting as a mediator, cited “logistical reasons” for the delay. A new date r …