Iran ‘has every right’ to enrich uranium, says Araghchi.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, defends Iran’s right to enrich uranium, despite Western concerns about its nuclear weapons pursuit.
• Araghchi cites Tehran’s membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which mandates the declaration of nuclear stockpiles and supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• The U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.
• Iran and the U.S. have engaged in nuclear talks since April 12, their highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from a landmark deal with Tehran in 2018.
• A fourth round of talks scheduled for Saturday has been postponed due to logistical reasons.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Iran to “walk away” from enrichment, stating that only countries with nuclear weapons enrich uranium.
• Iran currently enriches uranium to 60% purity, above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal with the U.S. and other world powers.