US promotes nuclear talks, 400 kg of enriched uranium disappears from Iran, mocked as “cat and mouse game”

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on June 29 that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Takht-Ravanchi said that if the United States wants to resume diplomatic negotiations, it must rule out any further attacks on Iran.

Takht-Ravanchi mentioned that the Trump administration told Iran through several intermediaries that the United States wanted to resume negotiations this week, but has not yet stated its position on a “very important issue”, that is, whether the United States will attack Iran again during the US-Iran negotiations and dialogues, “so that we can see a repeat of the (June 21) aggression.”

Takht-Ravanchi pointed out that the United States must also make it clear “what they will offer us” to establish the mutual trust that is indispensable for such negotiations and dialogues.

The United States and Iran have held five rounds of nuclear negotiations since April. The sixth round, originally scheduled for June 15, was canceled due to Israel’s attack on Iran on June 13. On June 21, US President Trump ordered the US military to attack Iran from sea and air.

Takht-Ravanchi claimed that the United States and Iran have not yet reached an agreement on the date of the “sixth round” of nuclear talks, and it is not known what will be on the agenda if the talks are resumed.

Asked whether Iran might reconsider its nuclear program as part of any agreement with the United States, possibly in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and the opening of investment in Iran, he asked, “Why should we agree to such a proposal?”

Takht-Ravanchi said Iran will insist on being able to enrich uranium for “peaceful purposes.” He also denied the outside world’s accusation that Iran is secretly developing nuclear bombs. He argued that because Iran had previously been banned from using nuclear materials (i.e. enriched uranium) for its nuclear research program, it needs to rely on itself.

Takht-Ravanchi also said that the concentration and production capacity of enriched uranium can be negotiated, but if it is said that “you should not have enriched uranium, not even a little bit, and if you don’t agree, we will bomb you. That’s the law of the jungle.”

The extent of the damage caused to Iran’s nuclear program by the US attack on June 21 is still unknown, and Takht-Ravanchi also stated that it is impossible to give an exact assessment. Reuters quoted more than a dozen former and current officials involved in curbing Iran’s nuclear program as reporting that the US air strikes may have provided Iran with cover, making the whereabouts of more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium difficult to track.

There are many signs that Iran may have transferred nuclear materials in advance. Some diplomats bluntly said that “it seems to have known that it would be attacked in advance”, and verifying the status of this batch of raw materials will be a major problem. Tehran has also failed to elaborate on the discovery of uranium footprints in undeclared locations. “This will be a cat and mouse game.”

Fox News reported that according to the latest satellite images, after the Iranian Fordow nuclear facility was attacked, there were still signs of continued activity at the site, and tunnels and roads leading to the facility were seen to be severely damaged.

According to Iranian official media reports, at least 935 people were killed in Iran during the 12-day war with Israel.