TEHRAN, Iran: Iran may suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if external threats continue, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Thursday after US President Donald Trump again warned of military force if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal.
Iranian and American diplomats will visit Oman on Saturday to start a dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with Trump saying he would have the final word on whether talks are reaching a breakdown, which would put Iran in “great danger”.
“Continued external threats and putting Iran under the conditions of a military attack could lead to deterrent measures like the expulsion of IAEA inspectors and ceasing cooperation with it,” Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published on X, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Transferring enriched material to safe and undisclosed locations in Iran could also be on the agenda,” he wrote.
https://twitter.com/alishamkhani_ir/status/1910293913664971035
While the US insists that the talks with Tehran will be direct, Iran has stressed the negotiations will be indirect with intermediation from Oman’s foreign minister.
During his first 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions on Iran.
According to the IAEA, Iran has far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.
Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program.
Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Iranian officials have warned that any attack on the country will be met with a “swift response”, in an exchange of threats.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department earlier on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.
Five entities and one person based in Iran are cited in the new sanctions for their support of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The designated groups include the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and its subordinates Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, Thorium Power Company, Pars Reactors Construction and Development Company and Azarab Industries Co.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday reiterated the pledge that his nation is “not after a nuclear bomb” and even dangled the prospect of direct American investment in the Islamic Republic if the countries can reach a deal. – Agencies
