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Iran asserts right to peaceful nuclear energy under NPT; doubts US sincerity in diplomacy

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 26 June 2025 11:51 AM

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has reiterated the Islamic Republic's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as per Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying the country is determined to preserve it "under any circumstances."

Baghaei made the remarks in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Channel on Wednesday in response to a question about US President Donald Trump's claim that the American strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program.

"What I have to say is that Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy remains intact. Iran has every right under the NPT, under Article IV of the NPT, to enjoy nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and Iran is determined to preserve that right under any circumstances," he said.

Speaking to reporters at a NATO conference on Wednesday, Trump claimed that the United States and Iran would hold talks "next week."

"I don't care if I have an agreement or not," the US president said. "The only thing we'd be asking for is what we were asking for before, about we want no nuclear."

Contrary to Trump's claims, a leaked preliminary assessment by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) found that the early Sunday morning attacks caused only minimal damage to the facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran.

The report also noted that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile remains intact despite Trump claiming that the country's nuclear program was finished.

Iran has dismissed claims of "obliteration" of its nuclear sites and vowed to robustly continue expanding its peaceful nuclear energy program.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, on Tuesday reiterated that the country's nuclear program will continue to expand despite acts of aggression against the peaceful nuclear facilities.

Asked about Trump's claims of engaging with Iran, Baghaei criticized the US for pursuing "contradictory" approaches to Tehran as Washington gave the green light to the Israeli regime to carry out acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic amid indirect Iran-US talks.

"We have been hearing all sorts of contradictory remarks for the past two or three months. There have been many contradictions with the American establishment. While they have been talking about diplomacy, they green-lighted Israelis to attack Iran," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said.

He added that the Israeli regime started its acts of aggression against Iran only two days before a scheduled meeting between Iran and the United States in the Omani capital of Muscat.

"So has there remained any trust to them because they are talking about different things, acting differently, and now they have to be held accountable for the aggression that they have committed against my country with the cooperation [and] in collusion with Israelis," he emphasized.

"That is something that our people want from us as the government. They expect the international community to hold the aggressors accountable before anything else."

Asked about Iran's willingness to continue negotiations with the US, Baghaei said, "They torpedoed diplomacy. As far as Iran is concerned, we have said diplomacy never ends."

He added that even during the height of the imposed war against Iran, the country was engaged in talks with different actors to save lives and make sure that its national security is protected.

"But the point is that the other parties are talking about dialogue and diplomacy, but at the same time they are committing acts of aggression. So these contradictions have only created more and more problems," Baghaei emphasized.

On Iran's preconditions for any future negotiations, he said Iran is currently focused on its security after the end of the Israeli aggression.

"We are focused on our people. Because people are outraged at what happened. So, at the time being, we have nothing to say about those contradictory remarks regarding diplomacy or negotiations. Because we have to make sure whether the other parties are really serious when they are talking about diplomacy, it is again part of their tactics to make more problems for the region and my country," the Iranian spokesperson pointed out.