Iran will not compromise on right to enrichment says official

DUBAI – Iran will not abandon its right to uranium enrichment because of mounting frictions in the region, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on June 12, adding that a “friendly” regional country had alerted Tehran over a potential military strike by Israel.

The official said the tensions were intended to “influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights” during talks with the United States on June 15 in Oman.

US President Donald Trump said on June 11 that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because it could be a “dangerous place”, adding that the US would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Tehran and Washington will hold a sixth round of talks in Oman’s capital, Muscat, to resolve a decades-long stand-off over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

After five rounds of discussions between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, several obstacles remain.

Among them are Iran’s rejection of a US demand that it commit to scrapping uranium enrichment. REUTERS

Join STs Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.