Iran has declared it will not return to negotiations over its nuclear program unless the United States pledges to cease further military strikes.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, revealed this condition in an interview with the BBC aired Monday. The deputy minister explained that while Washington has communicated through intermediaries, a desire to revive stalled nuclear discussions, it has yet to clarify whether future military actions are off the table.
“This is a very important question,” Takht-Ravanchi said, warning that continued aggression would sabotage any possibility of renewed diplomacy.
The backdrop to this diplomatic standoff is a recent escalation in military tensions. Just last week, during the NATO summit, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a forthcoming round of talks with Tehran.
However, the announcement came days after he authorized airstrikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, an act Iran views as a major provocation.
Trump, who remains a polarizing figure in international affairs, made no apologies for the strikes. When questioned on Friday about the possibility of future bombings, he responded emphatically: “Without question, absolutely.”
Trump reiterated his long-held position that Iran must never develop nuclear weapons and claimed the recent attacks had significantly delayed Iran’s nuclear progress.
Iran, meanwhile, continues to defend its nuclear ambitions as peaceful and within its rights under international law. Takht-Ravanchi pushed back against Western accusations of a covert weapons program, arguing that Iran’s enrichment of uranium is for research and energy purposes. “We have been denied access to nuclear material, so we had to rely on ourselves,” he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Iran still possesses the technical capability to ramp up uranium enrichment within months. But Tehran remains adamant that its right to enrich uranium cannot be traded away under the threat of force.
“To say you must have zero enrichment, and if you don’t agree, we will bomb you, that is the law of the jungle,” Takht-Ravanchi concluded, capturing the growing sense of mistrust and the high stakes at play.
