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The following is the transcription of an interview with the former commissioner of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, member of the board of directors of Pfizer and non -executive chairman of the board of directors of Illumina, broadcast on “Face The Nation with Margaret Brennan” on June 29, 2025.
Margaret Brennan: We are now turning to Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, who joins us from New York. Welcome to “Face The Nation”.
Amb. Iravani: Thank you for inviting me.
Margaret Brennan: Ambassador, can you give us some clarity? Does Iran intend to reconstruct a nuclear enrichment program on its soil?
Amb. Iravani: You know that we are a member, responsible member, of the TNP, and according to the treaty, we have mutual rights. This means that the law on one side will be the obligation on the other side. In the TNP, it was defined that we have two very explicit rights. The first is that we can have research on development, we can have uranium production, and we may have peaceful energy. And the second law is that the legal protection of the IAEA for our activity and our technical cooperation for our development program.
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Amb. Iravani: And in return, it will also be suitable for the agency in this regard, that they should have full access according to the complete and complete backup agreement.
Margaret Brennan: Yes.
Amb. Iravani: And the second is that to preserve our peaceful nuclear activity, will always remain in Pacific. Enrichment is therefore our law and an inalienable law, and we want to implement this right.
Margaret Brennan: So you plan to restart enrichment, does it look like?
Amb. Iravani: I think the enrichment will never stop.
Margaret Brennan: Well, when you mentioned NPT, just for our listeners, you talk about some of the international agreements that Iran has concluded with the UN on non-proliferation and guarantees. You mentioned the UN nuclear inspectors. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday published a statement saying that there were calls in Iran, I believe, comes from a newspaper that the supreme chief supervises, accusing our previous guest, Rafael Grossi, of being an Israeli spy and of calling for his arrest and his execution. To be clear, is Iran threatening the UN inspectors?
Amb. Iravani: No, there is no threat. It is a very clear law of our parliament that they were suspended, our cooperation with the AIEA, because the agency has not implemented its rights, their responsibility. For this reason, it is a conditional law, and as long as this condition has not been set, our cooperation with the IAEA is suspended. But whenever he left as according to the law, we may have – resume our cooperation. But there is no threat against the director general of the IAEA.
Margaret Brennan: Well, which was published in the newspaper “Kayhan” Iranian. Your Minister of Foreign Affairs also said that the IAEA and Grosi himself were unhappy. Are IEA staff already inside Iran safely? And can they come back to their work to inspect your sites?
Amb. Iravani: Exactly. They are in Iran. They are in safety, but the activity has been suspended. They cannot have access to our site, but perhaps someone, it is an individual opinion of people who can criticize the IAEA or threaten the director general. But we criticize IAEA. We- our evaluation is that they did not do their job, so they failed and they prepared themselves [inaudible] For such assault against us.
Margaret Brennan: I imagine that you condemn the calls to its execution?
Amb. Iravani: Yeah.
Margaret Brennan: President Trump –
With. Iravani: (inaudible) -Mémia.
Margaret Brennan: I know, and you tell us about the UN. President Trump said on Friday that Iranian officials wanted to meet him personally, and he said it would soon be. Mr. Ambassador, does Tehran plans to remove this indirect communication request with the United States and will you start to speak with the Trump administration?
Amb. Iravani: Come, we were in negotiation, but because we know that any dispute between Iran and the United States or other parts of the JCPO cannot be resolved without negotiation and using peaceful means to resolve this dispute. We are therefore in negotiation, and we are ready for negotiations, but after this assault, it is not an appropriate condition for a new negotiation cycle, and there is no request for negotiation and meeting with the president.
Margaret Brennan: Well, the United States wanted to meet Iran to speak, and although the supreme chief published a statement saying that Iran had treated in the United States a slap opposite, after that, President Trump declared that he had indeed prevented Israel from going further and had prevented Israel from attempted to kill your supreme leader. Why not take the offer of a diplomatic lifeline? Because he seems to offer one.
Amb. Iravani: This is a very blatant violation of international law – threatening the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran or any head of state, they have the impunity of any attack. So we must understand that what is the principle and condition for any negotiation? Negotiation is – to its principles, and it is a concession and taking process. We must therefore engage in negotiation and discuss each other, perhaps we reach a conclusion or not, but unconditional surrender is not a negotiation. This dictates politics towards us. If they are ready for negotiations, they will find us ready for this, but if they want to dictate us, it is impossible to negotiate with them,
Margaret Brennan: Mr. Ambassador, thank you for your time today. We will look and wait to see if there are diplomatic opportunities. We will be back.
