US must rule out more strikes before new talks, Iranian minister tells BBC

The US must rule out any further strikes on Iran if it wants to resume diplomatic talks, Tehran’s deputy foreign minister has told the BBC.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the Trump administration told Iran through mediators that it wanted to return to negotiations this week, but had not made its position clear on the “very important question” of further attacks while talks are taking place.

The US and Iran were involved in talks over Iran’s nuclear programme when Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites and military infrastructure earlier this month and Iran responded with missiles.

The US became directly involved in the conflict on 21 June when it bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Takht-Ravanchi also said Iran would “insist” on being able to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes, rejecting accusations that it is secretly moving towards developing a nuclear bomb.

He said Iran had been “denied access to nuclear material” for its research programme so they 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 13 June, saying Tehran was close to building a nuclear weapon.

Iran responded by attacking Israel and hostilities continued for 12 days, during which time 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 programme 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 programme as part of any deal, possibly in return for sanctions relief and investment in the country, Takht-Ravanchi said: “Why should we agree to such a proposal?”

He reiterated that Iran’s programme, 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. The IAEA said it resumed enrichment at Fordo in 2021 and had reached about 60% enrichment – a short, technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% – to potentially make nine nuclear bombs.

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 criticising Iran over its nuclear programme “should criticise the way that we have been treated” and criticise the US and Israel.

He added: “And if they do not have the guts to criticise 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 was “tantamount to a futile exercise”.

He said that 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 Persian 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.”

Lyse Doucet is being allowed to report from Iran on the condition that none of her reports are used by the BBC’s Persian service. This law from Iranian authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in Iran.