Iraqi: We are ready for a real and lasting agreement on the nuclear file

SadaNews - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that his country is ready for a real and lasting agreement regarding its nuclear program, which includes restrictions on uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Araqchi added in an article published in the British Guardian newspaper today, Sunday, that missing this brief opportunity could have dire consequences for the region and the world, and he noted that "if diplomacy is not given the necessary time, the result will not be satisfactory," as he put it.

The Iranian foreign minister emphasized that the Iranian armed forces are now ready and capable of defeating Israel to the extent that they will force it to seek refuge with the United States for survival, according to his statement.

Araqchi criticized once again the activation of what is known as the "snapback mechanism" by the European troika (Britain, France, and Germany) days ago, which could lead to the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran within 30 days, describing this step as illegal.

He pointed out that Europe has failed to meet its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, while demanding that Iran accept unilaterally all the restrictions imposed on it, noting that Britain, Germany, and France refused to condemn the Israeli-American attack that targeted Iran last June.

The Iranian foreign minister said yesterday that it is impossible to return to negotiations with Washington in the same manner as before the war.

Araqchi spoke about the imminent reaching of an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, with agency estimates indicating that Iran possessed, prior to the Israeli and American attacks, enough nuclear material enriched to 60% to manufacture 6 nuclear weapons if enriched to a higher purity of 90%.

Last June, over the course of 12 days, Israel targeted nuclear facilities and military and civilian sites, assassinating senior military leaders, including the commander of the Revolutionary Guard and the chief of staff, as well as prominent nuclear scientists, and Iran responded with a series of missile strikes that caused unprecedented destruction in several Israeli cities.

Simultaneously with the Israeli attack, the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities, with U.S. President Donald Trump speaking about the complete destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, but intelligence assessments released from Washington cast doubts on that.