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Iran threatens to end nuclear talks with Europe after Mandelson comments Trump says he warned Israel against attack on Iran as nuclear deal ‘very close’
(about 5 hours later)
Iranian foreign minister says there can be no further talks if UK and European position is zero uranium enrichment US president claims he told Tel Aviv he thought agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme could come within weeks
Iran’s foreign minister has threatened to end all talks with European officials over its nuclear programme after Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington, appeared to side with US calls to eliminate Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities. Donald Trump has claimed he warned Israel against attacking Iran because he believed he was very close to a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme in which US inspectors will be given unparalleled access to sites to ensure the country is not planning to build a nuclear bomb.
It was not clear if Lord Mandelson’s remarks during a question and answer session at the Atlantic Council in Washington revealed an unannounced change in UK policy or if, in seeking to side with Donald Trump, he had spoken in a way to allow misinterpretation. At a White House press conference on Wednesday, the US president confirmed he held talks last week with Israel and told them it was “not appropriate” to attack Tehran because he believed he could reach a deal within weeks.
After five rounds of talks between Iran and the US mediated by Oman, the two sides remain at loggerheads over Iran’s continued ability to enrich uranium, which Tehran regards as a sovereign right and which the US fears leaves open a path to an Iranian nuclear bomb. At the heart of Trump’s deal is a planned Iranian preparedness to allow US, and not just UN, inspectors to visit Iran’s nuclear facilities to ensure Tehran is not enriching uranium to levels that would allow it to make a nuclear bomb. Current verification is undertaken by a UN nuclear inspectorate, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
After Mandelson’s comments, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on social media on Wednesday: “If the UK position is ‘zero enrichment’ in Iran, there is nothing left for us to discuss on the nuclear issue.” “I want it very strong where we can go in with inspectors, we can take whatever we want, we can blow up whatever we want, but nobody getting killed. We can blow up a lab, but nobody is gonna be in a lab, as opposed to everybody being in the lab and blowing it up,” Trump said, adding that he believed he was very close to an agreement.
He said such request was a clear violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and violated Britain’s commitments in the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPoA), the agreement to contain Iran’s civil nuclear programme that the UK and other world powers signed with Iran in 2015. The US president’s remarks implied, but did not confirm, that – subject to the new intrusive verification inspectorate – Iran would be allowed to continue to enrich uranium. The issue has been Tehran’s key demand in five rounds of talks between Iran and the US, which have been mediated by Oman.
Under the JCPoA, Iran is entitled to enrich uranium to up to 3.75% purity subject to an intrusive inspection regime. Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, on Wednesday said the country was willing to see US inspectors enter its nuclear sites, but he insisted sovereignty required it to be entitled to enrich uranium, and not rely on imports.
Speaking later to reporters on a visit to Oman, Araghchi said: “This tweet was in response to a British official who had talked about zero enrichment. I said there explicitly that we continued our consultations with three European countries during this period, but if their position is zero enrichment, we will no longer have any talks with them about nuclear issues.” In a sign of the importance Iran places on retaining the right to enrich uranium, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi threatened to end all talks with European officials over its nuclear programme after Peter Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington, appeared to side with previous US calls to eliminate the country’s uranium enrichment facilities.
He continued: “They must determine their own position, and we are not joking with anyone on the issue of enrichment.” It was not clear if Lord Mandelson’s remarks during a question and answer session at the Atlantic Council in Washington revealed an unannounced change in UK policy or if, in seeking to side with US policy, he had spoken in a way to allow misinterpretation.
On Tuesday, Mandelson had said: “Iran since the theocratic revolution has never been in a weaker state than it is now. Weakened by economic sanctions, weakened by the heavy pounding that its proxies have taken, weaker because of the growth of public opinion, especially amongst young people in Iran, away from the regime. Iran is vulnerable. But it still retains enrichment facilities which can produce … a nuclear bomb. And we can’t accept that. The two sides remain at loggerheads over Iran’s continued ability to enrich uranium, which the US fears leaves open a path to an Iranian nuclear bomb.
“So Britain strongly support the [US] president’s initiative in negotiating away these enrichment and related facilities in Iran. We support what Steve Witkoff [the US special envoy to the Middle East] has been doing in his negotiations, which are making some progress.” After Mandelson’s comments, Araghchi posted on social media on Wednesday: “If the UK position is ‘zero enrichment’ in Iran, there is nothing left for us to discuss on the nuclear issue.”
He said such a request was a clear violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and undermined Britain’s commitments in the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPoA), the agreement to contain Iran’s civil nuclear programme that the UK and other world powers signed with Iran in 2015.
Under the current JCPoA, Iran is entitled to enrich uranium to up to 3.75% purity, but the country gradually dismantled the previous UN inspection regime in protest at Trump taking the US out of the JCPoA in 2018.
The British Foreign Office said when asked for comment: “We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback [of sanctions] if necessary. That is the UK’s longstanding position, which has not changed.The British Foreign Office said when asked for comment: “We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback [of sanctions] if necessary. That is the UK’s longstanding position, which has not changed.
“We have urged Iran to engage with President Trump’s offer of a negotiated solution and we continue to liaise closely with our allies and partners on this in support of regional stability and to secure peace in the Middle East.”“We have urged Iran to engage with President Trump’s offer of a negotiated solution and we continue to liaise closely with our allies and partners on this in support of regional stability and to secure peace in the Middle East.”
Trump has spoken of a good announcement within days, but many of his predictions about diplomatic breakthroughs have proved optimistic No date has been set for a sixth round of talks. Iran has already offered to revert to much lower levels of enrichment, and for its stocks of highly enriched uranium to be put out of use, probably in a third country such as Russia.
No date has been set for a sixth round of talks, but in a potentially important concession Iran has announced it may be willing to have US, and not only UN, inspectors visit and monitor its controversial nuclear programme. Iran has already offered to revert to much lower levels of enrichment, and for its stocks of highly enriched uranium to be put out of use, probably in a third country such as Russia.
After Trump unilaterally left the agreement in 2018, Iran responded by enriching to much higher levels that took its nuclear programme close to the purity levels required to make a nuclear bomb.
The proposal for US inspectors was made in Tehran by Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami on Wednesday and came as Oman hosted the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in a further attempt to break the deadlock in the talks.
One idea is for an interim minimal agreement to be reached in which some US economic sanctions are lifted and inspections are fully restored.
The UK, France and Germany have in effect been sidelined in the US-led talks over the nuclear programme, but senior Israeli officials have been holding talks with Witkoff and the CIA.
The Iranian foreign ministry briefed three European officials in Geneva two weeks ago but European officials have remained silent on the US conduct of the talks.