TEHRAN -- Iran repeated
Monday its insistence its nuclear program is peaceful, two days after the U.S., Britain, France and Germany expressed their “grave” concern on the sidelines of a G20 meeting.
Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters here that Western positions are “incompatible with reality and will not bring constructive results”.
The Western statement on Saturday, a joint declaration after bilateral meetings by leaders on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome, followed their discussions of Iran’s offer to resume discussions on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal by removing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The accord has been moribund since former U.S. president Donald Trump walked out in May 2018 and imposed sweeping sanctions.
The Western statement on Saturday claimed that Tehran “has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal.”
Khatibzadeh said that was not correct. “Contrary to the statement, the production of uranium metal and highly enriched uranium, as already asserted in the past, is carried out for peaceful purposes and for civilian uses, including for medical supply and for use as fuel in the Tehran research reactor,” he said.
Last week, Iran said it would resume Vienna talks in November after a five-month gap.
Biden has said he is ready to re-enter the agreement so long as Iran also returns to full compliance by rolling back nuclear activities that it undertook in response to Trump’s sanctions.
Khatibzadeh said Iran wanted to see Washington take action. “The criterion for us is the action of the other party,” he said.
“Contrary to their statements, the U.S. administration continues to pursue a policy of maximum pressure which leads to new sanctions or the reimposition of sanctions previously lifted.”
Khatibzadeh stressed that the negotiations are intended to ensure a “definite, committed and practical return of the United States to its obligations” under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“We have already had enough of empty words. We have been waiting for an action that has been delayed for months,” he added.