TEHRAN, Feb 8: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States.
The minister, Abbas Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by AFP, that Tehran had little trust in Washington and even doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously.
"Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour," Araghchi
"Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," he said, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea.
The United States and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday, for the first time in years, in Oman.
Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be "a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme."
Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East's only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb, which the Islamic republic denies.
"They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say 'no' to the great powers," Araghchi said.
Araghchi's comments came after US lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the aircraft carrier on Saturday, signalling the persistent threat of US military action against Iran.
The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said the two top officials visited the nuclear-powered vessel.
In a social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group was "keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength".
The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks "very good" and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media that they "constitute a step forward".
Following Friday's first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for the "imposition of tariffs" on countries still doing business with Iran despite US sanctions.
The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.
At the Tehran forum Sunday, Araghchi called into question the United States' commitment to negotiations.
"The continuation of certain sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations," he said.
"We are monitoring the situation closely, assessing all the signals andwill decide on the continuation of the negotiations." "AFP
US to track Indian oil imports, redo tariff if Russia link found
NEW DELHI, Feb 8: Donald Trump's order by which he removed 25% penal tariffs on India, also says that the US commerce secretary should track if it "resumes" such oil imports. This "monitoring mandate" is the "real sting" in Trump's executive order, strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney has said.
"It formally tasks the commerce secretary with tracking Indian oil imports and creates a clear trigger: a finding that India has resumed 'directly or indirectly' importing Russian oil could snap the 25% punitive tariff back into place," said Chellaney, professor emeritus at the independent think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi.
He said the word "indirectly" is a loaded one. "It opens the door to penalizing Indian refined fuels - diesel, jet fuel and other products - sold to Europe or the US if Washington deems them to have originated from Russian crude," he theorised in a post on X. "HT
