Iran will not stop its 20 per cent uranium enrichment program before the United States lifts all sanctions, Iranian state TV has quoted an unnamed official as saying.
The news follows a US media report suggesting Washington would offer a new proposal to jump-start nuclear-agreement talks between the two nations.
The Biden administration has been seeking to engage Iran in talks about resuming compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.
That agreement removed economic sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program to make it harder to develop a nuclear weapon – an ambition the Islamic Republic denies.
“A senior Iranian official tells Press TV that Tehran will stop its 20-per cent uranium enrichment only if the US lifts ALL its sanctions on Iran first,” state-run Press TV said on its website.
“The official said Tehran will further reduce its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if the US does not lift all sanctions, warning that Washington is rapidly running out of time,” it added.
Separately, Iran’s United Nations mission tweeted: “No proposal is needed for the US to rejoin the JCPOA (nuclear agreement). It only requires a political decision by the US to fully and immediately implement all of its obligations under the accord”.
Read the article in The Canberra Times (AAP).