US must rule out more strikes before new talks, Iranian minister tells BBC

The United States must exclude other strikes on Iran if he wants to take over diplomatic talks, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Tehran to the BBC.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that the Trump administration said to Iran by the mediators that she wanted to return to negotiations, but had “not specified their position” on the “very important question” of new attacks while talks take place.

The military operation of Israel, which started in the early hours of June 13, denounced a sixth round of mainly indirect talks which take place in Muscat two days later.

The United States was directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran last weekend when it targeted three Iranian nuclear sites during a bomb.

Takht-Ravanchi also said that Iran “insists” in order to be able to enrich uranium for what it says of peaceful ends, rejecting the accusations that Iran secretly headed for the development of a nuclear bomb.

He said Iran “refused access to nuclear materials” for his research program if necessary “to rely on ourselves”.

“The level of this can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that you should not have an enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if you do not agree, we will bomb you – this is the law of the jungle,” said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Israel began its attacks, targeting nuclear and military sites as well as murdered commanders and scientists in Iran on June 13, affirming that Tehran was about to build a nuclear weapon.

Iran responded by attacking Israel with missiles. Hostilities continued for 12 days, during which the United States abandoned bombs on three of Iranian nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear program by American strikes was not clear, and Takht-Ravanchi said that he could not give an exact evaluation.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that strikes had caused serious but “not total” damage, while US President Donald Trump said that Iran’s nuclear installations were “completely erased”.

Grossi also said that Iran had the ability to start enriching uranium in “a few months”. In response, Takht-Ravanchi said he didn’t know if it would be the case.

Iran’s relationship with IAEA has become more and more tense. On Wednesday, its parliament moved to suspend cooperation with the atomic guard dog, accusing the IAEA of turning back on with Israel and the United States.

Trump said he would “absolutely” consider Iran if the information found that he could enrich uranium at levels concerning the levels.

Takht-Ravanchi said that no date had been agreed for a possible return to talks and that he did not know what would be on the agenda, after Trump suggested that discussions could take place this week.

The Iranian Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister said: “At the moment, we are looking for an answer to this question: are we going to see a repetition of an act of aggression while we are committed to dialogue?”

He said that the United States had to be “clear enough on this very important question” and “what it will offer us in order to trust the necessary for such a dialogue”.

When asked if Iran could consider rethinking its nuclear program in the context of any agreement, perhaps in exchange for sanctions and investment in the country, Takht-Ravanchi said: “Why should we accept such a proposal?”

He reiterated that the Iranian program, notably enriching uranium at 60%, was “for peaceful purposes”.

Under a 2015 nuclear agreement with the global powers, Iran was not authorized to enrich uranium greater than 3.67% – the level required for fuel for commercial nuclear power plants – and was not authorized to enrich its Fordo factory for 15 years.

However, Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 during his first mandate as president, saying that he had done too little to stop a path to a bomb and restored American sanctions.

Iran retaliated by increasingly breaking the restrictions – in particular those relating to enrichment. He resumed enrichment in Fordo in 2021 and had raised enough uranium enriched 60% to potentially make nine nuclear bombs, according to the AIEA.

Pressed on European and Western leaders who lack confidence in Iran, Takht-Ravanchi accused some European leaders of “ridiculous” approval of American and Israeli strikes.

He said that those who criticize Iran on its nuclear program “should criticize the way we have been treated” and criticize the United States and Israel.

He added: “And if they do not have the courage to criticize America, they should keep silent, not try to justify the attack.”

Takht-Ravanchi also said that Iran had received messages through mediators that the United States “did not want to engage in a change in regime in Iran” by targeting the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Iranians to “get up for their freedom” to lower Khamenei’s office rule, but after last week’s ceasefire was reached, Trump said he didn’t want the same thing.

Takht-Ravanchi insisted that this would not happen and that the idea is equivalent to a futile exercise. “

He said that although some Iranians “could have criticism of certain actions of the government, with regard to foreign aggression, they would be united to face it.”

The vice-minister of foreign affairs said that he was “not entirely clear” if the ceasefire with Israel would last, but Iran would continue to observe it “as long as there is no military attack on us”.

He said that the Iranian Arab allies in the Persian Gulf “did their best to try to prepare the atmosphere necessary for a dialogue”. Qatar is known to have played a key role in the current ceasefire brokerage.

He added: “We do not want a war. We want to engage in dialogue and diplomacy, but we must be prepared, we must be careful, to no longer be surprised.”

Lyse Douce is authorized to present itself since Iran provided that none of its reports is used by the Persian service of the BBC. This law of Iranian authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in Iran.