Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has threatened to halt all discussions with European officials regarding its nuclear program following comments made by Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington, that appeared to align with US demands for the elimination of Iran's uranium enrichment facilities, The Guardian reported.
Araghchi took to social media on Wednesday, stating, "If the UK position is 'zero enrichment' in Iran, there is nothing left for us to discuss on the nuclear issue."
He further asserted that such a request constitutes a "clear violation" of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and breaches Britain's commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), the official name of the Iranian nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers.
Under the terms of the JCPoA, Iran is permitted to enrich uranium up to 3.75% purity, subject to an "intrusive inspection regime."
Speaking later to reporters during a visit to Oman, Araghchi reiterated his stance and said, "This tweet was in response to a British official who had talked about zero enrichment. I said there explicitly that we continued our consultations with three European countries during this period, but if their position is zero enrichment, we will no longer have any talks with them about nuclear issues."
He emphasized, "They must determine their own position, and we are not joking with anyone on the issue of enrichment."
Mandelson's remarks were made on Tuesday during a question and answer session at the Atlantic Council in Washington. He stated, "Iran…still retains enrichment facilities which can produce… a nuclear bomb. And we can’t accept that. So Britain strongly support the [US] president’s initiative in negotiating away these enrichment and related facilities in Iran."
The British Foreign Office, when asked for comment, stated, "We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons... That is the UK’s longstanding position, which has not changed."
The statement added, "We have urged Iran to engage with President Trump’s offer of a negotiated solution and we continue to liaise closely with our allies and partners on this in support of regional stability and to secure peace in the Middle East."
The back-and-forth comes amid Iran’s indirect talks with the US. Following the fifth round of Omani-mediated talks in Rome, Araghchi downplayed progress, emphasizing that "the negotiations are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings."
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that the US had “very good talks” with Iran and expressed hope that he will be bringing good news on the Iranian front.
At the same time, Iran has firmly rejected any suspension of its uranium enrichment activities, a core demand from US negotiator Steve Witkoff, who has stated that the United States "could not authorize even one percent" of enrichment by Iran.