Tehran has demanded that Washington rule out fresh strikes on Iran ahead of further talks on its nuclear programme.
Iran’s deputy foreign minster Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC re-engagement was proposed for this week, but the US had not stated its position on the “very important question” of attacks on Iran, nor created “confidence required for such a dialogue”. He said Iran’s Gulf allies were “doing their best to prepare the necessary atmosphere for a dialogue”.
Mr Takht-Ravanchi criticised the“ridiculous” support of European leaders for US and Israeli strikes and for trying “to justify the aggression”.
It was “not quite clear” whether the ceasefire with Israel would hold, but Iran would abide by it “as long as there is no military attack against us”, he said. “We do not want war. We want to engage in dialogue and diplomacy, but we have to be prepared, we have to be cautious, not to be surprised again.”
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Did Iran move its uranium? Opinions split on fate of 400kg stockpile
Two days before the sixth round of Oman-mediated Iran-US talks were scheduled for June 15th, Israel bombed Iranian nuclear sites and military facilities. Iran replied with ballistic missiles and drones. During the resulting 12-day air war, about 610 Iranians were killed and 4,746 injured, while 29 Israelis were killed and 3,458 wounded, according to their respective health ministries.
A ceasefire was called after the US bombed Fordow, Nantz, and Isfahan, Iran’s three main nuclear sites. While the US has claimed they have been “obliterated”, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran could resume enriching uranium “in a matter of months”.
Talks have stalled over Tehran’s insistence on domestic enrichment for peaceful purposes while the US has demanded “zero” enrichment within Iran. Mr Takht-Ravanchi said the level of enrichment “can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you – that is the law of the jungle.”
Under a 2015 agreement, Iran could enrich uranium to 3.67 per cent, its stockpile was limited, and the IAEA closely monitored and inspected Iranian facilities. Sanctions were partially lifted, giving a boost to Iran’s strangled economy.
US president Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions.
In 2019, Iran breached the terms of the deal, enriching uranium to 60 per cent, and thus getting nearer to the 90 per cent required for weapons. Last month, the IAEA said Iran had amassed a stockpile of 400kg of this highly enriched uranium - enough for five bombs, according to experts. In such circumstances, if Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were to approve it, the process of weaponisation and bombmaking could take just months.
Mr Takht-Ravanchi argued that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s call for “regime change” by targeting the Ayatollah was “tantamount to a futile exercise”. While he admitted Iranians might criticise the government, “when it comes to foreign attack, Iranians would unite “to confront it”.
