Iran open to nuclear talks if US guarantees no further military strikes

Iran's foreign minister said Saturday that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against it, state media reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear programme, but, assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.

Referring to the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites, and the US strike on June 22, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, "first of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.

Following the strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors.

Araghchi said that under Iranian law, the country will answer the agency's request for cooperation "case by case, based on Iran's interests.

He also said any inspection by the agency should be done based on Iran's security concerns as well as the safety of the inspectors.

The risk of proliferation of radioactive ingredients and an explosion of ammunition that remains from the war in the attacked nuclear sites is serious, he said.

He also reiterated Iran's position on the need to continue enriching uranium on its soil. US President Donald Trump has insisted that cannot happen.

Israel claims it acted because Tehran was within reach of a nuclear weapon. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organised nuclear weapons programme in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60 per cent a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the US airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction.