The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran’s deputy foreign minister has told the BBC.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the Trump administration told Iran through mediators that it wanted to return to negotiations this week, but had not made its position clear on the “very important question” of further attacks while talks are taking place.
The US and Iran were involved in talks over Iran’s nuclear programme when Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure earlier this month and Iran responded with missiles.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran would “insist” on being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting accusations that it is secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.
He said Iran had been “denied access to nuclear material” for its research programme so they needed “to rely on ourselves”.
“The level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if do you not agree, we will bomb you – that is the law of the jungle,” the deputy foreign minister said.
On Monday, Iran said that, based on the latest forensics data, 935 people had been killed by the Israeli strikes.
According to the latest data reported by Israel’s health ministry, 28 people have been killed in Israel since 13 June when Iran responded by attacking Israel.
The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear programme has been unclear, and Takht-Ravanchi said he could not give an exact assessment.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the strikes caused severe but “not total” damage, while US President Donald Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “totally obliterated”.
Iran’s relationship with the IAEA has become increasingly strained. On Wednesday, its parliament moved to suspend cooperation with the atomic watchdog, accusing the IAEA of siding with Israel and the US.
Trump has said he would “absolutely” consider bombing Iran again if intelligence found that it could enrich uranium to concerning levels.
Takht-Ravanchi said no date had been agreed upon for a possible return to talks and he did not know what would be on the agenda, after Trump suggested discussions could take place this week.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said: “Right now we are seeking an answer to this question – are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?”
Source:BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma