DUBAI (Reuters) – U.S. concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons are not a complicated issue and can be resolved given Tehran’s opposition to weapons of mass destruction, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday, .
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“If the main concern is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a complicated issue. Iran’s position is clear: it is a member of the Non Proliferation Treaty, and the Supreme Leader’s fatwa has already clarified our stance [against weapons of mass destruction],” Araqchi said.
“Maximum pressure is a failed experience and trying it again will lead to another failure.”
Trump initiated the “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran during his first term, after exiting a nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers which had lifted international sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Since then, Iran has dramatically accelerated enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief told Reuters in December.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that claims that Tehran was seeking to kill U.S. officials were “fabrications by warmongers” and that Iran sought legal pathways to seek justice for the killing of its senior officials.
These include Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a U.S. air strike in 2020.
The remarks follow Trump’s comments on Tuesday that Iran would be obliterated if it sought to kill him.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
