Iran Vows to Continue Uranium Enrichment Despite Heavy Strikes, Citing National Pride

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran will not abandon its uranium enrichment program, even after waves of U.S. and Israeli air strikes caused major damage last month.

“It is now stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe, but obviously, we cannot give up our enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists, and now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” Araghchi told Fox News in an interview Monday.

At the start of the 16-minute segment, Araghchi emphasized Iran’s openness to dialogue — though not directly with Washington at this stage.

“If they [the US] are coming for a win-win solution, I am ready to engage with them,” he said. “We are ready to do any confidence-building measure needed to prove that Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever, and Iran would never go for nuclear weapons, and in return, we expect them to lift their sanctions.”

Iran and the United States had re-entered talks earlier this year — seven years after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark agreement in which Tehran agreed to rigorous inspections in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

Under the JCPOA, Iran’s nuclear activity was brought under international oversight. But since Washington’s 2018 withdrawal under then-President Trump and the reimposition of sanctions, Iran has gradually ramped up its program once more.

With input from Fox News