Trump Has ‘No Right’ To Deny Us Nuclear Rights: Iran Prez Masoud Pezeshkian
The recent comment comes in the backdrop of positive developments in the talks between Washington and Tehran; however the second round of direct negotiations in Islamabad, remains a distant possibility.
- World News
- 3 min read
Tehran: After the U-turn of the Hormuz blockade and amid reports of the second round of US-Iran negotiations, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that US President Donald Trump has no right to deny Tehran its right to enrich nuclear energy. This comes after Trump recently claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium to the Americans.
“Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn't say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian reportedly said.
The recent comment comes in the backdrop of positive developments in the talks between Washington and Tehran; however the second round of direct negotiations in Islamabad, remains a distant possibility. Iran has maintained that the recent talks have indicated US stepping down from its high ground by sending a revised set of proposals; however key differences exist between the two countries over nuclear rights and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
After Iran announced reimposition of its blockade over the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, President Donald Trump, seemed to blow down the impact of Iran's posturing, saying that the two sides are engaging in “very good conversations”. However, he warned against any “blackmail” over the critical energy chokepoint.
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Both sides have refrained from sharing any details about the ongoing high-profile peace talks while the two-week ceasefire is about to expire.
The war which has dragged on for more than eight weeks has disrupted global energy markets, with the closure of the Straight of Hormuz, the most critical energy corridor through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
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Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of face-to-face talks with U.S. officials, a senior Iranian official said Saturday, citing Washington's refusal to abandon “maximalist” demands on key issues.
'Take Back Uranium To US'
Earlier on Friday, Trump reiterated that the United States will take enriched uranium from Iran amid the ongoing negotiations. Sharing details about the operation, Trump said the operation would be carried out jointly with a lot of excavators.
"We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators. We need the biggest excavators you can imagine. But we're going in together with Iran, we're going to get it, and we're going to take it back home to the USA," he said.
However, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh rejected the claims made by Donald Trump.
“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are non-starters.”