The United States must rule out any further strikes on Iran
if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran's deputy foreign minister told
the BBC.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi says the Trump administration has told
Iran through mediators it wants to return to negotiations, but had "not
made their position clear" on the "very important question" of
further attacks while talks are taking place.
Israel's military operation, which began in the early hours
of June 13, scuppered a sixth round of mainly indirect talks set to take place
in Muscat two days later.
The US became directly involved in the conflict between
Israel and Iran last weekend when it targeted three Iranian nuclear sites in a
bombing raid.
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran will "insist" on
being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting
accusations that Iran was secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.
He said Iran had been "denied access to nuclear
material" for its research program so needed "to rely on
ourselves".
"The
level of that can be discussed, the capacity can be discussed, but to say that
you should not have enrichment, you should have zero enrichment, and if do you
not agree, we will bomb you — that is the law of the jungle," the deputy
foreign minister said.
Israel began its attacks, targeting nuclear and military
sites as well as assassinating commanders and scientists, in Iran on June 13,
claiming Tehran was close to building a nuclear weapon.
Iran responded by attacking Israel with missiles.
Hostilities continued for 12 days, during which the US dropped bombs on three
of Iran's nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
The extent of the damage caused to Iran's nuclear program by
US strikes has been unclear, and Takht-Ravanchi said he could not give an exact
assessment.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), said the strikes caused severe but "not total" damage,
while US President Donald Trump declared that Iran's nuclear facilities were
"totally obliterated".
Grossi also said Iran had the capacity to start enriching
uranium again in "a matter of months". In response, Takht-Ravanchi
said he did not know if that would be the case.
Iran's relationship with the IAEA has become increasingly
strained. On Wednesday, its parliament moved to suspend cooperation with the
atomic watchdog, accusing the IAEA of siding with Israel and the US.
Trump
has said he would "absolutely" consider bombing Iran again if
intelligence found that it could enrich uranium to concerning levels.
Takht-Ravanchi said no date had been agreed upon for a
possible return to talks and he did not know what would be on the agenda, after
Trump suggested discussions could take place this week.
Iran's deputy foreign minister said "right now we are
seeking an answer to this question: are we going to see a repetition of an act
of aggression while we are engaging in dialogue?"
He said the US had to be "quite clear on this very
important question" and "what they are going to offer us in order to
make the necessary confidence required for such a dialogue".
Asked
if Iran could consider rethinking its nuclear program as part of any deal,
possibly in return for sanctions relief and investment in the country,
Takht-Ravanchi asked, "Why should we agree to such a proposal?"
He reiterated that Iran's program, including enriching
uranium to 60%, was "for peaceful purposes".
Under a
2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran was not permitted to enrich uranium
above 3.67% purity — the level required for fuel for commercial nuclear power
plants — and was not allowed to carry out any enrichment at its Fordo plant for
15 years.
However, Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 during his
first term as president, saying it did too little to stop a pathway to a bomb,
and reinstated US sanctions.
Iran retaliated by increasingly breaching the restrictions —
particularly those relating to enrichment. It resumed enrichment at Fordo in
2021 and had amassed enough 60%-enriched uranium to potentially make nine
nuclear bombs, according to the IAEA.
Pressed
on European and Western leaders having a lack of trust towards Iran,
Takht-Ravanchi accused some European leaders of a "ridiculous"
endorsement of US and Israeli strikes.
He said those who are criticizing Iran over its nuclear
program "should criticize the way that we have been treated" and criticize
the US and Israel.
He
added, "And if they do not have the guts to criticize America, they should
keep silent, not try to justify the aggression."
Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran had received messages through
mediators that the US did "not want to engage in regime change in
Iran" by targeting the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on
Iranians to "rise for their freedom" to bring down the clerical rule
of Khamenei, but, after last week's ceasefire was reached, Trump said he did
not want the same.
Takht-Ravanchi insisted it would not happen and the idea "tantamount
to a futile exercise".
He said
although some Iranians "might have criticism of some actions by the
government, when it comes to foreign aggression they would be united to
confront it".
The deputy foreign minister said it was "not quite
clear" if the ceasefire with Israel would last, but Iran would continue to
observe it "as long as there is no military attack against us".
He said
Iran's Arab allies in the Arabian Gulf were "doing their best to try to prepare
the necessary atmosphere for a dialogue". Qatar is known to have played a
key role in brokering the current ceasefire.
He added, "We do not want war. We want to engage in
dialogue and diplomacy, but we have to be prepared, we have to be cautious, not
to be surprised again."