Iran dismisses US demand for ‘zero enrichment’

TEHRAN: Iran’s atomic chief dismissed the US demand for ‘zero enrichment’ of uranium in the Islamic republic, according to Tasnim news agency yesterday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), slammed the US demand as a repetition of Washington’s past mistakes.

Salehi made the remarks on Friday at the sidelines of the Oslo Forum in Norway, the leading international network of conflict mediation practitioners.

The nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers that led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal initially began on condition that the US abandons the notion of zero enrichment, said Salehi.

He warned that the Middle East and the entire world will face a ‘dreadful’ consequence if the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), collapses under Washington’s ‘unwise and baseless’ decisions.

He also urged the European Union and other countries supporting the JCPOA to adopt practical steps to combat the US policies in this regard.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran will not negotiate with the United States, which fails to keep its word and moves to sabotage multilateral agreements one after another. — Bernama