Iran is ready to discuss its nuclear program if Western countries show they are “serious,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqae was quoted as saying in an interview published yesterday.
“We have said several times that we are ready for discussions, but only if the other side is serious about this,” Baqaei told the government daily Iran.
Tehran has signaled to the West several times its willingness to reach an agreement over its nuclear program.
Photo: AP / Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In an interview with Sky News posted to his official Telegram channel on Tuesday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said the new US administration should work to win back Tehran’s trust if it wants a new round of nuclear talks.
Baqaei yesterday expressed hope that US President Donald Trump would adopt a “realistic approach” toward Iran.
During his first term that ended in 2021, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure,” withdrawing the US from a landmark nuclear deal that imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Asked about the possibility of new talks, Baqaei said Iran’s policy would depend on “the actions of the other parties.”
Tehran adhered to the deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — until a year after Washington’s withdrawal in 2018, but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear pact have since faltered.
Iran has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive the nuclear deal, and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July last year, has called for an end to his country’s isolation.
Before Trump’s return to the White House, Iranian officials held nuclear talks with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany that both sides described as “frank and constructive.”
In December, the three Western governments accused Tehran of growing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to “unprecedented levels” without “any credible civilian justification.”
They also discussed the possible reimposition of sanctions.
Baqaei yesterday said that if this happened, Iran’s adherence to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “would no longer have any meaning.”
Under the treaty, signatory states are obliged to declare their nuclear stockpiles and place them under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS