Tehran, July 22, 2025: Iran has ruled out abandoning its uranium enrichment programme despite “severe” damage inflicted by recent U.S. strikes, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday, just days before crucial nuclear talks with European powers in Istanbul.
Speaking on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier, Araghchi admitted that enrichment activities are currently halted due to extensive damage, but firmly ruled out any long-term suspension.
“Obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists,” he said, describing it as a matter of “national pride.”
Iran is scheduled to meet representatives from Britain, France, and Germany — the so-called E3 — in Istanbul on Friday to discuss the future of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The upcoming session marks the first round of European engagement since last month’s 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, during which the United States bombed multiple Iranian nuclear sites.
Responding to Araghchi’s comments, former U.S. President Donald Trump warned on his platform Truth Social that the United States would “strike again if necessary.”
The 2015 deal — signed between Iran and the P5+1 (the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany) — placed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement began to unravel in 2018 when the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions.
While European signatories pledged to preserve the accord, Iran accuses them of failing to shield the country from U.S. economic pressure. “Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.
Baqaei added that Iran’s gradual withdrawal from its commitments under the deal was “in line with the agreement’s own provisions,” triggered by Western non-compliance.
In parallel to Friday’s E3 meeting in Istanbul, Tehran will also host a trilateral discussion on Tuesday with officials from China and Russia, two key JCPOA stakeholders.
Beijing has expressed its willingness to “play a constructive role” to restart talks and craft a solution that “takes into account the legitimate concerns of all parties,” according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Germany, meanwhile, said the Istanbul talks would take place at the expert level. “We are working flat out to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution,” said German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese. He added that if progress is not achieved by the end of August, the E3 may consider triggering the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism — a clause that allows for the automatic reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran in case of non-compliance.
However, that option must be exercised before the JCPOA formally expires in October.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran remains the only non-nuclear-weapons state enriching uranium up to 60%, far above the JCPOA’s agreed cap of 3.67%. This level of enrichment is only a short technical step away from weapons-grade material at 90%.
Calling potential snapback sanctions “meaningless, unjustifiable, and immoral,” Baqaei insisted Iran’s actions were reactions to external provocations and not violations.
Tehran has ruled out engaging directly with the United States at this stage.
“At this point, we have no intention of speaking with America,” Baqaei said, citing the collapse of a planned June 15 nuclear meeting after Israeli airstrikes sparked a regional escalation.
The United States followed up with its own strikes on June 22, targeting critical enrichment facilities in Fordo (Qom province), Isfahan, and Natanz, dealing what officials described as significant damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is strictly for civilian use, including energy generation and medical research, and denies ever seeking nuclear weapons. Western powers — led by the U.S. and backed by Israel — have long disputed this assertion.
