Iran won't bow to Western pressure to suspend uranium enrichment, MP says

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, has said that Iran will not bow to Western pressure to suspend uranium enrichment and warned that any activation of the UN snapback mechanism will trigger a firm response.

He made the remarks in an interview with Mehr that Tehran will respond appropriately to any mistakes made by Western countries.

In response to recent threats by European states to trigger the snapback mechanism and reinstate UN Security Council resolutions against Iran, Boroujerdi stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has given and will continue to give proportional responses to Western missteps.”

Referring to the Israeli and US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he added, “They made a mistake and paid the price. In response, the Iranian Parliament passed legislation mandating the suspension of all cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was approved by the Guardian Council, conveyed to the president, and put into effect.”

“Naturally, if they repeat their mistakes by triggering the snapback mechanism, both Parliament and the government will take even more serious measures,” he added.

He warned that Iran is not a country to be intimidated: “We hope European countries act wisely. The Islamic Republic has made it clear that it will not retreat from its legal rights under pressure and threats.”

Boroujerdi emphasised that Iran is not against negotiations in principle, but any negotiations must respect Iran’s rights. “We will never give up our legitimate right to enrich uranium. Enrichment is a sovereign right that we will continue to pursue based on our national needs.”

Highlighting the country’s scientific capacity, he underlined that the West should understand that our nuclear expertise is embedded in the minds of hundreds of Iranian scientists. "Bombing cannot erase this knowledge — it will only come back stronger.”

He concluded by saying that negotiations will only be meaningful if Iran’s right to enrich uranium is upheld. "Negotiations only make sense when they are carried out with the precondition of preserving the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to enrichment, and we will in no way succumb to the West's demands for zero enrichment."

By Khagan Isayev