ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami on Thursday dismissed claims that Tehran had “secret nuclear activities,” stressing that all nuclear operations are conducted under the oversight of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
This comes as Ali Shamkhani, a top aide to Iran’s supreme leader, underscored Iran’s willingness to give up weapon-grade uranium for sanctions relief - a stance notably reshared by US President Donald Trump who stated that Washington is close to securing a nuclear deal with Tehran.
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Eslami, stated that “Iran has never had any undeclared or secret nuclear activities throughout its history. All of the country’s nuclear operations are conducted in cooperation with the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA and under its continuous supervision.”
He added that IAEA inspectors regularly visit Iran’s nuclear facilities, both through scheduled and surprise inspections.
Tehran’s nuclear chief further noted that Iran’s “goals in the field of nuclear technology are completely transparent and peaceful” and that Tehran “has always been ready for dialogue and engagement” that is “based on logic, mutual respect, and consideration of national interests - not on force and threats.”
“Attempts to destroy the achievements of the Iranian nation through pressure and imposition have so far yielded nothing and will not do so in the future,” Eslami concluded.
Earlier in the day, Shamkhani, a top advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by NBC as saying that Iran is “ready to get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponized, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran.”
“If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani said, adding that a deal could “lead to a better situation in the near future.”
The US president on Thursday reshared Shamkhani’s remarks on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Earlier in the day, Trump stated that the US was inching closer to securing a nuclear deal with Iran. "We're in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace," Trump said, according to AFP.
"We're getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he noted, adding that “there are two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don't want to do it the second way.”
These developments come as the US and Iran concluded the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the latest round as “significantly more serious” than previous ones, noting that “we moved away from generalities and delved into the specifics.”
“We can now say that both sides have a better understanding of each other’s positions,” Araghchi added, noting that a fifth round of negotiations is expected later this week.
Indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program resumed on April 12 in Oman.
The revived talks represent the most substantive engagement between the two countries since the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the JCPOA and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. In response, Iran began gradually scaling back its commitments under the deal.
Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and that the pursuit of nuclear weapons contradicts the principles of the Islamic Republic.
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