Iran vows to keep enriching uranium ahead of nuclear talks with US

Iran's top diplomat insisted Wednesday that Tehran will never stop enriching uranium, reinforcing the Islamic Republic's hard line ahead of a new round of indirect talks with the United States over its fast-advancing nuclear programme.

The comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi come after multiple rounds of talks between the two nations, including at an expert level over the details of a possible deal.

However, none has been reached yet, and American officials including President Donald Trump, Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintain that Iran must give up enrichment something it didn't do in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

I have said it before, and I repeat it again: uranium enrichment in Iran will continue with or without an agreement, Araghchi said, according to state television.

Araghchi added that Iran is currently reviewing whether to participate in the next round and when to take part in talks with the US. Trump's trip to the Mideast last week delayed any new meeting. Negotiators previously met in Muscat, Oman, and Rome.

Later Wednesday, Oman's foreign minister announced that the fifth round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States will be held Friday in Rome. Neither Tehran nor Washington has confirmed the meeting or announced whether they will attend.

The minister made the comment on social media. Oman has long served as a mediator, facilitating quiet diplomacy amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program and regional security.

We have never abandoned diplomacy. We will always be present at the negotiating table, and the main reason for our presence is to defend the rights of the Iranian people, Araghchi said. We stand against excessive demands and rhetoric at the table.

Araghchi's remarks came a day after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he didn't expect the negotiations to produce a deal.

I don't think nuclear talks with the US will bring results. I don't know, Khamenei said.

The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic, closing in on half a century of enmity.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's programme if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to strike Iran's nuclear facilities on its own if it feels threatened, further worsening tensions in the Mideast already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kg (661 pounds). That level is enough for nuclear power plants, but far below weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.

Since the nuclear deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its programme and enriched uranium to up to 60 per cent purity a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

There have also been a series of attacks at sea and on land in recent years, stemming from the tensions even before the Israel-Hamas war began.