- Araqchi urges trust-building, rejects US call to end enrichment.
- Iran to deliver Supreme Leader’s message to Russia’s Putin.
- Tehran may oppose plan to transfer uranium stockpile abroad.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi rejected Washington’s demand to end uranium enrichment on Wednesday, ahead of a second round of nuclear talks in Oman this weekend.
Araqchi was responding to remarks made a day earlier by US top negotiator Steve Witkoff, who said Tehran must “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment” to secure a deal with Washington.
“We have heard contradictory statements from Witkoff, but real positions will be made clear at the negotiating table,” Araqchi said.
“We are ready to build trust regarding possible concerns over Iran’s enrichment, but the principle of enrichment is not negotiable.”
Iran and the United States are scheduled to resume talks in Oman on Saturday as tensions grow over Tehran’s expanding nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump warning of possible military action in the absence of a deal.
Iranian state media reported that, ahead of the negotiations, Araqchi will travel to Russia to deliver a message from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin declined to comment when asked whether Russia was prepared to take custody of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile as part of a potential nuclear agreement.
The Guardian reported that Tehran is expected to reject a US proposal to transfer its enriched uranium to a third country such as Russia, under a deal aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities.