Iran said it may consider allowing US inspectors with the United Nations nuclear watchdog to inspect its facilities if a deal is reached with the United States.
“Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years — we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries,” Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, told reporters, referring to staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Tehran “will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency” if “an agreement is reached, and Iran’s demands are taken into account”, he added.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that “consultations are ongoing regarding the time and location of the next round of talks, and once finalised, they will be announced by Oman”.
Eslami also said that the issue of enrichment “has not been raised at all” and “the enrichment percentage should not be raised politically”.
“The enrichment percentage depends on the type of use. When highly enriched uranium is produced, it does not necessarily mean military use,” he told reporters.
Baqaei, meanwhile, said: “The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country’s nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable.”
Tehran and Washington have in recent weeks held five rounds of talks focused on the issue — their highest-level contact since the US in 2018 withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal during Donald Trump’s first term.
