Shafaqna English- Kamal Kharrazi, President of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations (SCFR), stated that Iran is prepared to negotiate with the United States regarding its nuclear program, but only on its own terms: equal footing and mutual respect.
The senior official made the remarks in an interview with CNN, published Wednesday by the SCFR, a key Iranian foreign-policy think tank and advisory body to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Kharrazi said Iran remains open to diplomatic engagement but argued that USA’s President Trump does not believe in such engagement and instead prefers to use force to achieve his objectives.
Asked whether Iran is still ready for talks, Kharrazi responded: “It all depends. If it were based on mutual respect and equal footing, and the agenda were prepared in advance to ensure clarity of substance and the process of discussion, we are ready to do that,” according to the SCFR.
He emphasized that the United States must “make the first move” to demonstrate its readiness to engage with Iran under these conditions.
Kharrazi also noted that Iran’s nuclear program cannot be dismantled by force, as it is “indigenous” and rooted in the expertise of Iranian scientists and engineers.
Reiterating Iran’s rejection of zero enrichment, he said the country requires enrichment for peaceful purposes and that only the level of enrichment is open to negotiation.
“We have to continue our enrichment because we need to produce fuel for our power plants as well as our medical activities. Therefore, we cannot stop enriching uranium, but the degree of enrichment can be negotiated,” he said.
On Iran’s ballistic missile program, Kharrazi stressed that the issue is “non-negotiable,” saying Iran will continue to develop its missile capabilities to defend itself and safeguard national security.
“It is only the nuclear issue that we are ready to engage with the United States and others. We are not going to negotiate with others on other issues, including our missile activities,” he said, as quoted by the SCFR. “We will not neglect anything we can do to enhance our missiles,” he added.
Kharrazi also advised President Trump to approach engagement with Iran “positively,” saying such an approach would certainly be reciprocated, but warned that the United States must refrain from any use of force against Iran for that to happen.
Sources: IRNA