WASHINGTON: Iran’s top diplomat said the possibility of new negotiations with the United States on his country’s nuclear programme has been “complicated” by the American attack on three of the sites, which he conceded caused “serious damage”.
The US was one of the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to limits on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief and other benefits.
That deal unravelled after US President Trump pulled the US out unilaterally during his first term. Trump has suggested he is interested in new talks with Iran and said the two sides would meet next week.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left open the possibility that his country would again enter talks on its nuclear programme, but suggested it would not be anytime soon.
In Friday prayers, many imams stressed the Ayatollah’s message from the day before that the war had been a victory for Iran. Cleric Hamzeh Khalili, who also is the deputy chief justice of Iran, vowed the courts would prosecute people accused of spying for Israel “in a special way”.
During the war, Iran hanged several people who it already had in custody over espionage.
Later in the day, Trump said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran was enriching uranium to a level that concerned the US, and that he would like inspectors from the IAEA or other reputed agencies to be able to inspect Iran’s nuclear sites.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif held a call on Thursday in which they discussed promoting “a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” the US State Department said.
A section of Pakistan’s embassy in Washington represents Iran’s interests in the US, as Tehran does not have diplomatic relations with the US.
“The two leaders acknowledged the importance of working together to promote a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” the US State Department said. Rubio emphasised Iran could never acquire a nuclear weapon. Now, Israel is the only West Asian country believed to have nuclear weapons.