Iran vows to pursue nuclear development until West ends ‘illegal behavior’
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council pledged on Saturday to continue nuclear development until the West ends its “unlawful behavior”. Reuters the news agency reported, citing Iranian state media.
“Iran’s retaliatory actions in the nuclear sector are only legal and rational responses to US unilateralism and European inaction and will continue until the West’s illegal practices change,” he said. said Ali Shamkhani during a meeting with senior European diplomat Josep Borrell.
He added that Iran would reject any deal that did not include guarantees from the United States and Europe or that did not bring economic benefits to the Islamic Republic.
Borrell tweeted that he and Shamkhani had an “important meeting” aimed at getting the nuclear deal “back on track”, without giving further details.
The European diplomat met Shamkhani during his visit to Tehran as part of efforts to revive stalled nuclear talks.
Talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal, stalled for three months, are expected to resume within days, Borrell said earlier on Saturday.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, speaks during a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Iran’s capital Tehran, on June 25, 2022. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
Israel is vehemently opposed to a return to the 2015 accord, which it campaigned against when it was signed, viewing Iran as untrustworthy and unable to deliver on its commitments.
Successive Israeli governments have warned for decades that Iran was seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
“If signed, the current deal is very bad for Israel,” an unnamed senior security official told Channel 12 on Saturday.
“[The agreement] is limited to 2.5 years and will allow Iran to prosper, which will advance its military capabilities in the Middle East,” the official added.
A person involved in security at the uranium conversion facility just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, March 30, 2005. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Incumbent US President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to roll back the deal, saying it would be the best path with the Islamic Republic.
Talks began in April last year but bogged down in March amid differences between Tehran and Washington, including over a request by Iran to withdraw its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a US terrorist list.
AFP contributed to this report.
