Washington denounces “a nuclear escalation” and reiterates that it seeks to “guarantee” that Tehran “never acquires nuclear weapons”
Nov. 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States Government has demanded from Iran “a change in behavior” and “full cooperation” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to resolve disputes over its nuclear program, which Tehran assures is totally peaceful.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian stressed on Thursday that Tehran “has not tried and will not try” to develop nuclear weapons and was open to relaunching discussions with the IAEA to “clarify” the “ambiguities” around its nuclear program, in which framework of a visit to the country by the organization’s general director, Rafael Grossi.
In response, the deputy spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, has stressed that Washington “has doubts about interpreting things related to signs about whether Iran wants to change its behavior or not” and has argued that what the United States seeks “are changes of behavior and actions”.
Patel has stressed the need to ensure Iran’s “full cooperation” with the IAEA to “resolve points of concern.” “We want to guarantee that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons and we will continue to use various tools to achieve that goal, with other options on the table,” he said.
In this way, he has criticized what he describes as “an escalation by Iran in all aspects, including its nuclear escalation”, through the increase in enrichment levels after the United States unilaterally abandoned the historic nuclear agreement in 2018. of 2015.
Patel has also praised the “coordination” with the known as E3 – made up of France, the United Kingdom and Germany – in view of the next IAEA Board of Governors, where a new resolution condemning Tehran could be approved, and has shown his “support” for “efforts to hold Iran accountable.”
Pezeshkian conveyed to Grossi on Thursday that Iran maintains “a firm and principled position” on “the prohibition of the development of nuclear weapons” and maintained that Tehran develops its nuclear program “in line with the legal frameworks” agreed with the organization.
The Iranian president also recalled that Iran had “fulfilled” its obligations with the historic agreement reached in 2015. “It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew,” he said, before adding that the decision of the Administration of then-president Donald Trump –who will return to the White House in January 2025– made it “impossible” to keep the pact standing in its original structure.
Just a few hours earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, told Grossi that the authorities are willing to resume talks on its nuclear program, but ruled out restarting this process “under pressure or intimidation” from third parties. “Disputes can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agree to proceed in good faith,” he concluded.
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