(MENAFN) Iran will persist with its uranium enrichment program despite pressure from the United States and its partners, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated.

Speaking to a news outlet on Saturday, Araghchi said that US and Israeli airstrikes in June had failed to halt the program, which Tehran insists is strictly for civilian purposes. While some “nuclear materials remain buried under the rubble,” the enrichment technology “remains intact,” he added.

“We cannot stop uranium enrichment, and what is not achieved by war cannot be achieved through political means,” Araghchi emphasized.

He also indicated that Iran remains open to negotiating a deal with Washington through indirect talks, but only if the US removes what he described as “impossible and unacceptable preconditions.”

Araghchi further stated that Iran’s missile program is non-negotiable. “It would be foolish if one hands over their weapons,” he said.

The Omani-mediated US-Iran negotiations were suspended earlier this year following a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Last month, the EU and UK reinstated sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), from which the US withdrew during President Donald Trump’s first term. Tehran has since declared that it is no longer bound by the agreement, which expired in October.

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