Iran: If the West continues to threaten us with sanctions… We may move towards possessing a nuclear weapon
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that if the West continues to threaten Tehran with re-imposing sanctions, it may move towards possessing nuclear weapons.
This came in a press statement in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on the eve of a meeting between Iranian and European negotiators that was held in Geneva, Friday.
“If the West continues to threaten to re-impose all UN sanctions, Iran may seek to obtain nuclear weapons,” Araghchi said.
He pointed out that Iran had the ability and knowledge to produce nuclear weapons in the past, but this wasn’t part of the country’s security strategy.
He continued, “If the European countries re-impose sanctions on Iran in the UN Security Council, everyone in Iran will be convinced that the principle of not possessing nuclear weapons is a wrong principle”.
Regarding the meeting of Iranian and European negotiators, Friday, Araghchi describe it as “a brainstorming session to find out if there is a way out of the current situation”.
Before the meetings he said, “I am not optimistic about tomorrow’s meeting, because I am not sure whether Iran is talking to the right side or not… The European countries, especially Britain, Germany and France, seem to have chosen a counter-policy”.
Iranian officials are expected to meet with deputy foreign ministers from Britain, Germany and France in Geneva on Friday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program and regional developments.
In 2015, Iran and the P5+1 group, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France, in addition to Germany, signed an agreement to regulate and monitor Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting sanctions.
Washington unilaterally withdrew from the deal under former President Donald Trump in 2018 and began re-imposing sanctions on Iran, after which Tehran gradually stopped its commitments to the deal and took a series of steps, including once again enriching high-level uranium.
