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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar for consultations in the run-up to the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks with the US, which will take place in Oman on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.
The future direction of Iran's nuclear programme, its enrichment of uranium, and sanctions relief remain the key issues. Speaking later Saturday in Doha, Araghchi said that if the US's goal is to deprive Iran of its nuclear rights, Tehran will not back down from "any of our rights". Iran insists its programme is for civilian purposes and it has no intention to pursue a nuclear weapon, as reported by Al Jazeera. Araghchi told Al Jazeera in Doha, "I have always said that if the... purpose of a deal is to ...ensure that Iran would never have [a] nuclear weapon that is already granted... and a deal would be at our reach". "But if there are unrealistic...demands by the other side, then we are going to have problems", he said. In an interview with Breitbart News on Friday, President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who will attend the talks in Oman, said the US would "take [Iran] at their word" that they do not want nuclear weapons, but set out specific conditions for verifying such a position." "If that's how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel that they have there and send it to a faraway place -- and they have to convert to a civil programme if they want to run a civil programme," he said, Al Jazeera reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has raised the possibility of Iran importing enriched uranium for any civilian energy. Araghchi's Gulf tour on Saturday came after Tehran confirmed the latest round Friday: "The negotiations are moving forward, and naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and reviews are needed," Araghchi said in remarks carried by Iranian state media, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)
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