Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that although Iran’s nuclear facilities were seriously damaged by U.S. strikes six months ago, the country remains determined to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment.
“Technology cannot be bombed,” Araghchi told the Russian channel RT in an interview that aired on Sunday. He rejected conditions to limit nuclear enrichment and said Iran was ready to provide guarantees that its program would remain peaceful.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously escalated his warnings to Tehran, saying any new Iranian nuclear site would be bombed if the country attempted to restart its program without an agreement.
Why It Matters
A nuclear enrichment limit was a major sticking point in talks between Washington and Tehran earlier this year, before Israel attacked Iran in June. The U.S. then struck three major Iranian nuclear sites in an operation Tehran called illegal and unjustified. Araghchi said Iran sought a fair and balanced solution, adding that he did not see Washington as ready for negotiations. His comments contradicted Trump’s claim that Iran wanted to reach a deal.
What To Know
According to observers, Tehran may have been working to restore its nuclear program—including work at the site of the Natanz Nuclear Complex, which the U.S. targeted on June 22.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors remain barred from those sites struck by the U.S. Iran has criticized the IAEA for not addressing its security concerns by publicly condemning the U.S. and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities, though Araghchi said the country remained committed to its legal obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which had regulated and monitored Iran’s nuclear activities since 2015, has officially expired, and Iran is at odds with Western powers over nuclear limits and sanctions relief.
The U.S. and Iran were in new talks because Trump unilaterally withdrew from the previous nuclear deal in 2018. During the 2025 talks, Araghchi said there would be no deal if the U.S. insisted on zero enrichment, saying enrichment was a red line that must continue.
“The Americans are not ready for a fair agreement,” he told RT. “We should wait until they reach that point, then we can hold talks.”
What People Are Saying
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told RT on Sunday: “Enrichment is our right before anything else, and then of course it’s a matter of national dignity and national pride. … I think by the recognition of this right, the U.S. would do something good for the nonproliferation regime.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said at the White House on December 11: “Iran is not the same country. Iran was a country that was feared by everybody. Now, it’s a country that’s been very much downgraded. I’m sure they’ll try and come back. … But if they do want to come back, and they want to come back without a deal, then we’re going to obliterate that one, too.”
What Happens Next
Araghchi’s remarks come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump at the White House next week, amid Iranian concerns about the possibility of renewed attacks.
