USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The United States insists it will not accept any deal with Tehran that allows uranium enrichment, while Iran asserts it will continue its enrichment activities under the country’s civilian nuclear program, with or without an agreement with Washington.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Iran’s rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are “crystal clear,” adding that “there is no scenario in which Iranians will allow any deviation from that.”

“Mastering enrichment technology is a hard-earned and homegrown scientific achievement; an outcome of great sacrifice of both blood and treasure,” the Iranian top diplomat said in a post on X, as nuclear negotiations between the two countries continue.

“If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal,” Araghchi continued.

In addressing the talks regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, our U.S. interlocutors are naturally free to publicly state whatever they deem fit to ward off Special Interest groups; malign actors which set the agendas of at least previous Administrations.

Iran can only…

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 18, 2025

His comments came after US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, affirmed that Washington will not accept uranium enrichment under any agreement with the Islamic regime.

“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

He emphasized that, from US President Donald Trump’s perspective, this condition is essential for any deal with Iran, warning that “enrichment enables weaponization.”

Araghchi dismissed Witkoff’s latest remarks, accusing Washington of contradictory actions amid their ongoing nuclear negotiations.

“Iran can only control what we Iranians do, and that is to avoid negotiating in public — particularly given the current dissonance we are seeing between what our US interlocutors say in public and in private, and from one week to the other,” the Iranian top diplomat said.

After concluding their fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman last weekend, US and Iranian officials will resume negotiations this week in Europe.

On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, described negotiations with the White House as “difficult,” accusing Washington of not adhering to any “conventional diplomatic norms.”

“Imposing sanctions while claiming to pursue a diplomatic path with the Islamic Republic of Iran is itself evidence of their lack of seriousness and goodwill,” the Iranian diplomat said in a statement.

“This reality proves that American policymakers maintain a hostile attitude toward the Iranian people, and their claims of commitment to dialogue and diplomacy should not be taken seriously,” Baghaei continued.

As part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran — which aims to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon — Washington has been targeting Tehran’s oil industry with mounting sanctions.

In April, Tehran and Washington held their first official nuclear negotiation since the US withdrew from a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that had imposed temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.

On Sunday, US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that even if Iran agrees to a nuclear deal, it cannot be trusted to uphold it, claiming the regime hasn’t kept its word on anything since coming to power more than four decades ago.

Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapons development, Western states have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”