Iran has reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium ahead of a key meeting with Britain, France and Germany – known as the E3 nations– which are warning of reimposing nuclear sanctions, reports Al Jazeera.
Friday's meeting, set to take place in Istanbul, will bring Iranian officials together with officials from the European powers, including the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.
The talk will mark the first since Israel-Iran's 12-day war following Israel's mid-June attack targeting key Iranian nuclear and military sites that ended in a ceasefire on June 24.
"Especially after the recent war, it is important for them [European countries] to understand that the Islamic Republic of Iran's position remains unshakable, and that our uranium enrichment will continue," the Tasnim news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying on Thursday.
Israel launched its attack on Iran just two days before Tehran and Washington were poised to resume negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.
The United States then joined the Israeli offensive and struck three Iranian nuclear facilities–Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan– overnight between June 21 and 22.
Britain, France and Germany – alongside China, Russia and the US – are parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The deal placed major restrictions on Iran's atomic activities aimed at a gradual lifting of United Nations sanctions in return.
However, in 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Donald Trump's first term as president and reimposed its sanctions.
Britain, France and Germany maintained their support for the 2015 accord and sought to continue trade with Iran.
But they have since accused Tehran of failing to uphold its commitments and are threatening to reimpose sanctions under a clause in the agreement that expires in October – something Iran is eager to avoid.
The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60% – far beyond the 3.67% cap set by the 2015 accord. At least 90% enrichment is required for a nuclear weapon.
Western powers, led by the US and backed by Israel, have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons, which Iran has repeatedly denied, emphasising its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.
Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched its strikes on Iran.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Thursday that Tehran would be prepared to engage in further talks on its nuclear programme with the US provided Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust.
In a social media post, Gharibabadi also said that for talks to take place with the US, Tehran would seek "several key principles" to be upheld.
These include "rebuilding Iran's trust – as Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States", he said, adding there could be no room "for hidden agendas such as military action, though Iran remains fully prepared for any scenario".
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