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.
Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by AFP that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously.
He later said Iran was consulting with its "strategic partners" China and Russia about the talks.
"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 said at the forum.
"Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," he added, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea.
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 an atomic 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.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday denounced "the attempt by the most extreme regime in the world to obtain the most dangerous weapon in the world", calling it "a clear danger to peace".
The US and Israel additionally want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear issue and include Iran's ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region, issues Iran refuses to include in the talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday -- insists these two components be included in any negotiation, his office said Saturday.
Araghchi's comments came after US lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
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 said 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 diplomacy.
"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 and will decide on the continuation of the negotiations."
The talks between the two foes and the US military buildup in the region follow Iran's crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December, sparked by economic grievances.
The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.
International organisations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has kept a running toll since the onset of the protests, says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mostly protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation.
Source Name: Economic Times