Tehran will engage Washington in nuclear negotiations if discussions proceed respectfully, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's foreign policy adviser told CNN Tuesday, while maintaining Iran's stance from before the June US-Israel strikes.
Kamal Kharrazi stated in an exclusive CNN interview from Tehran, "They have to make the first move to show that they are ready to engage with us on the conditions that we put… it has to be based on equal footing and mutual respect," adding, "The agenda would be prepared in advance to ensure the clarity of substance and the process of discussions." He continued, "Unfortunately, President (Donald) Trump does not believe in diplomatic engagement but rather prefers to use force to achieve his objectives."
President Donald Trump said later Tuesday that Iran appears "very much" interested in reaching an agreement with Washington on its nuclear program. At a White House dinner honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump told guests, "They'd like very much to make a deal with us, and they call us, and we'll end up probably doing that, that's Iran."
Iran's conditions for rapprochement remain unchanged since the June strikes, Kharrazi revealed to CNN, with uranium enrichment continuing for power generation and medical purposes while the expanding ballistic missile program stays excluded from negotiations. "It is only the nuclear issue we will discuss with the United States," he stated. Washington and Tehran were actively negotiating when Israel's surprise June attack eventually drew in the US, which struck three Iranian nuclear facilities – Washington's first direct military action inside Iran. Iran has recently confirmed that it has stopped enriching uranium due to the damage inflicted, although it is still unclear where its stash of highly enriched material was taken to, if it survived the bombing.
Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh informed CNN Sunday that despite severe damage to "infrastructure, machineries" and "buildings," the nuclear program remained "intact," while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no enrichment was occurring "right now" because facilities had been attacked. During summer negotiations, Washington demanded Tehran cease all enrichment, while Iran insisted on continuing domestic enrichment at levels unsuitable for weapons. The "degree of enrichment," not enrichment itself, would be the negotiation focus, Kharrazi explained to CNN.
When questioned about potential military confrontation with the US or Israel, Kharrazi responded, "Everything is possible. But we are ready for that."
