DUBAI, May 19. /TASS/. In order to achieve success in talks with the US, Iran is ready to take a variety of measures to demonstrate to the International Atomic Energy Agency that the Iranian nuclear program does not pursue the goal of building nuclear weapons, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.
"If our opponents really do not want to allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons, given that our nuclear program has been and remains peaceful, we are ready to discuss with the IAEA various measures to demonstrate this: Our nuclear program will under no circumstances be military in nature. But if the true goal of the other side is to put a complete end to the Iranian nuclear industry and halt uranium enrichment - and that’s what the evidence at hand points to - then the very essence of the issue changes - this will not do," the diplomat said at the weekly news conference.
"The issue of uranium enrichment is not negotiable under any circumstances," he said.
According to the spokesman, Iran "is not going to ask anyone for permission to enrich uranium."
Baghaei labeled US sanctions against Tehran as a "crime against humanity and a blatant violation of human rights and the rights of the entire Iranian people." According to the spokesman, the imposition of new restrictions "reaffirms that US politicians are extremely hostile to the Iranian people and their statements about their commitment to dialogue and diplomacy are not credible."
"One of the reasons why it is hard to negotiate with the US is that we are dealing with a side that does not respect the norms of diplomacy at all. While stating an intention to hold dialogue with Iran, the US imposes sanctions, demonstrating they are not serious and harbor ill intentions," Baghaei said. "We have chosen the path of diplomacy because we are confident in this: There is nothing in Iran's nuclear program that is of concern or subject to concealment. Iran's nuclear program was and is exclusively peaceful."
The US and Iran have held four rounds of talks, mediated by Oman, to settle differences around the Iranian nuclear program. The first of them took place on April 12 in the Omani capital. The second took place on April 19 in Rome, and the third and fourth ones on April 26 and May 11 in Oman again. The Iranian delegation was led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the US team by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Washington said Tehran should give up uranium enrichment and basically wind up its nuclear program. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the country, if sanctions against it are lifted, is ready to discuss a limit on how much uranium it can enrich and to what level, but will never agree to terminate the nuclear program.