DUBAI: Iran will not consider temporarily suspending uranium enrichment to secure a nuclear deal with the US, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, adding that no date had yet been set for a sixth round of talks with Washington.
The negotiations between Washington and Tehran aim to resolve a decades-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and both sides have taken a tough stance in public over the issue of Iran’s uranium enrichment.
Asked about reports that Iran could freeze enrichment for three years to reach an agreement, spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a press conference: “Iran will never accept that.”
Baghaei also ruled out the possibility of an interim nuclear deal with the US, dismissing media reports that a provisional agreement was being considered as a temporary step toward a final deal.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that US negotiators had “very good” talks with an Iranian delegation over the weekend.
Iran is waiting for further details from mediator Oman regarding the timing of the next round of talks, Baghaei said.
“If there is goodwill from the American side, we are also optimistic, but if talks are aimed at curbing Iran’s rights then talks will get nowhere,” he added.
The stakes are high for both sides.
Trump wants to curtail Tehran’s potential to produce a nuclear weapon that could trigger a regional nuclear arms race and perhaps threaten Israel. Iran, for its part, maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes and wants to be rid of devastating sanctions on its oil-based economy.
Iran rejects temporary halt on uranium enrichment to secure US nuclear deal
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Iran rejects temporary halt on uranium enrichment to secure US nuclear deal
UN chief appoints Finland’s Haavisto as personal envoy for Sudan
- Former Finnish FM has extensive experience in mediation in the Horn of Africa and Middle East
- Haavisto was Finland’s minister of foreign affairs from 2019-23
NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Pekka Haavisto, the former Finnish foreign minister, as his personal envoy for Sudan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
Haavisto succeeds Ramtane Lamamra of Algeria and brings more than 40 years of experience in politics and international affairs to the role, having previously held ministerial positions in Finland’s government as well as senior positions with the EU and UN. He is currently a member of the Finnish parliament.
Haavisto was Finland’s minister of foreign affairs from 2019-23. From 2016-19, he was president of the European Institute of Peace. He has also held the ministerial portfolios of development cooperation, state ownership, and the environment. Haavisto was elected to the Finnish parliament in 1987.
The new personal envoy has broad experience in mediation and negotiation processes in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and has worked extensively with the UN, said Dujarric.
From 2009-17, he was special representative to the Finnish foreign minister for mediation and crisis management in Africa. Between 2005 and 2007, Haavisto was the EU special representative for Sudan, where he took part in the Darfur peace negotiations. During that period, he also acted as a UN senior adviser to the Darfur peace process.
Haavisto worked for the UN Environment Programme from 1999 to 2005, including assignments in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Liberia, and Sudan.
Asked why Lamamra had stepped down, Dujarric said that it was a “joint decision” between the Algerian envoy and the secretary-general.
