Tehran’s stance on nuclear talks: We will not negotiate under pressure

Following a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Raphael Grossi, Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, emphasized that Iran will negotiate its nuclear programme based solely on its national interests and will not accept external pressure or blackmail.

"As a committed member of the NPT, we continue our full cooperation with the IAEA. Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to proceed with courage and goodwill. Iran has never left the negotiation table on its peaceful nuclear program. The ball is in the EU/E3 court. We are willing to negotiate based on our national interest and our inalienable rights, but NOT ready to negotiate under pressure and intimidation," Araghchi wrote on X, per Caliber.Az.

Important & straightforward talks with DG @rafaelmgrossi this morning.

As a committed member of NPT we continue our full cooperation with the IAEA. Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to proceed with courage and good will.

Iran has never… pic.twitter.com/bwLLzrKzwE

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) November 14, 2024

The Iranian minister described the meeting with the IAEA chief as "important and frank," stressing the need to resolve all differences through cooperation and dialogue.

Earlier, on June 6, Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, held the European Troika countries (Britain, Germany, and France) responsible for Iran’s potential retaliatory actions in response to the IAEA Board of Governors’ resolution accusing Tehran of a lack of cooperation.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed between Iran and international mediators, including Russia, Britain, Germany, China, France, and the United States, aimed to address the nuclear crisis that started in 2004 when Western nations accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, leading to sanctions. However, the agreement was severely undermined by President Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the deal in 2018.

According to US media reports citing Iranian officials, Tehran believes that a new agreement with the US following Trump’s recent election victory would be stronger and more durable. President Massoud Pezeshkian of Iran has reiterated that the country does not intend to develop nuclear weapons and is prepared to fully resume its commitments under the JCPOA.

In late October, Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that Iran could alter its nuclear doctrine in response to an "existential threat." Kharazi, who serves as a foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated, “We now have the necessary capabilities to produce nuclear weapons, and the only obstacle is the fatwa that prohibits it.”

Kharazi also indicated that Iran might expand its missile program, stressing the importance of missile range concerns for Western countries, especially Europeans. “If they do not take into account our concerns, especially on the issue of the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is no reason for us to take into account their concerns,” he asserted.

Khamenei’s 2010 fatwa, which bans the production of all weapons of mass destruction, was presented at the International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament. Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has repeatedly stated that Khamenei’s opposition to nuclear weapons is rooted not only in religious beliefs but also in strategic considerations. Critics, however, argue that the fatwa could be more advisory than a binding decree in the long term.

Amid rising tensions, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reassured the public in late October that the country had no intention of developing nuclear weapons following Israeli airstrikes.

On the night of October 26, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes against military facilities in three Iranian provinces — Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam — after Iran launched missile attacks on Israel.

The IDF targeted surface-to-air missile systems, air defence facilities, and missile production sites used in strikes against Israel. The Israeli military claimed that the operations had significantly weakened Iran’s “strategic defence capability,” though Tehran insisted that the damage was minimal.

By Tamilla Hasanova