Iran's foreign minister said Monday that his country will reply to the latest US proposal for ongoing discussions with Washington soon, but there will be no agreement unless Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is respected.
"We will give a proper response (to the US proposal) soon, a response based on the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian nation's interests and rights," said Abbas Araghchi, Iran's top diplomat, speaking alongside his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo.
Iranian, Egyptian and UN leaders met in Cairo on Monday to discuss Iran's nuclear program after the UN nuclear watchdog agency in a confidential report said Iran is further increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
The report emerged amid U.S.-Iran talks aimed at attempting to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic, which have strained relations for almost 50 years.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said the agency compiled its report, seen by The Associated Press over the weekend, because Iranian's uranium enrichment is an ongoing concern for the IAEA's board of governors.
Araghchi met with Grossi as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Iran is concerned that the US hasn't provided enough transparency about what Iran can gain from the talks, Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who is mediating in the US-Iran talks, visited Tehran on Saturday to present Washington's latest proposal for ongoing discussions.
The fifth round of talks between the US and Iran concluded in Rome last week with “some but not conclusive progress,” al-Busaidi said at the time.
Also read: How close is Iran to building a nuclear weapon?
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HOOK Desk and is published from a syndicated feed AP.)
