Iran rejects U.S. call to halt uranium enrichment

May 20, 2025 (MLN): Iran criticized the United States for what it called inconsistent and hostile conduct in the ongoing nuclear talks, rejecting Washington’s demand for zero uranium enrichment ahead of a possible new round of negotiations mediated by Oman.

Speaking at a press briefing in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagahei said, “The difficulty of negotiating with the US lies in the fact that you are dealing with a party that respects none of the established norms of a diplomatic process.”

“The very act of imposing sanctions while claiming to pursue diplomacy with the Islamic Republic of Iran shows a lack of seriousness and goodwill,” he added, warning that Washington’s shifting positions undermined trust.

“The Americans’ shifting position on enrichment is like a game of snakes and ladders—just as we make progress, the US adopts a different stance,” Bagahei said.

He was referring to recent comments by US nuclear envoy Steve Witkoff that Washington would not accept any level of uranium enrichment in a future agreement, as per the press release issued.

Bagahei stressed that Iran’s enrichment program was “non-negotiable,” calling it both a legal right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a national achievement.

“Uranium enrichment is not some kind of fantasy that we can simply suspend or stop. It is a technology and a necessity to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of Iran’s nuclear industry,” he said. “We cannot give it up.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also dismissed Witkoff’s remarks, saying they were “completely at a distance from the reality of the negotiations.”

In a post on X, Araghchi wrote: “If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome".

"Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal", he added.

He accused the US of contradictory messaging.

“Iran can only control what we Iranians do, and that is to avoid negotiating in public—particularly given the current dissonance we are seeing between what our US interlocutors say in public and in private, and from one week to the other,” Araghchi said.

Elsewhere in his press conference, Baghaei said the date and location for the next round of indirect US-Iran nuclear talks have not been set. Araghchi, however, said on Sunday that the date is set and will soon be announced by Oman, which is mediating.

Baghaei denied reports of parallel negotiations between other Iranian and US officials, specifically between Ali Shamkhani – Iran's former top security official and currently an advisor to the Supreme Leader -- and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“There are no parallel negotiations. The only negotiation process that exists is this indirect one, led by the Iranian foreign minister and the US president’s special envoy,” Bagahei said.

The US and Iran have held four previous rounds of talks in Muscat and Rome. Witkoff said on Sunday that the next round could take place in Europe later this week.

President Donald Trump said Thursday the US was “very close” to a deal but issued a warning on Friday.

“They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad—something bad’s going to happen,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“We have not received any written proposal from the United States, and their verbal offers constantly shift,” said Baghaei, echoing remarks made by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi the previous day.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman also warned that Tehran will respond to any hostile action, including a possible move by European countries to trigger the snapback mechanism—a process that would automatically reimpose UN sanctions on Iran under the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We will not leave any hostile action without a response,” Baghaei said.

“There is no legal basis for activating the snapback mechanism, and the insistence of some European countries on doing so is baseless”, he noted.

“If the Europeans use the snapback mechanism, we will definitely take measures in response,” he added.

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