Iran no longer enriching uranium in country in signal to West: minister

Iran's foreign minister said there is no uranium enrichment taking place because the country's facilities had been attacked, referencing the U.S. and Israel bombing.

Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program.

Answering a question from an Associated Press journalist visiting Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered the most direct response yet from the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program following Israel and the United States’ bombing of its enrichment sites in June during a 12-day war.

“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Araghchi said. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked.”

Iran says it is threatened over accessing bombed sites

Asked what it would take for Iran to continue negotiations with the U.S. and others, Araghchi said Iran’s message on its nuclear program remains “clear.”

“Iran’s right for enrichment, for peaceful use of nuclear technology, including enrichment, is undeniable,” the foreign minister continued. “We have this right, and we continue to exercise that, and we hope that the international community, including the United States, recognize our rights and understand that this is an inalienable right of Iran. And we would never give up our rights.”

Iran’s government issued a three-day visa for the AP reporter to attend a summit alongside journalists from major British outlets and other media.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, also attended the summit and told the gathering that Tehran had been threatened over potentially accessing the bombed enrichment sites. Satellite pictures analyzed by the AP since the attack show that Iran has not done any major work at the sites at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.