Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that as long as Iran remains a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to benefit from nuclear energy.

In a press interview ahead of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to New Delhi to participate in the BRICS ministerial meeting, Baghaei said: “Remember what happened in June last year; in the middle of negotiations, they launched a war during the negotiations. The war broke out, and then they repeated the same thing on February 28.”

Baghaei added that “after the war, a ceasefire was reached, and we resumed this diplomatic process and exchanged messages. We said let us focus on the highest priority — something extremely important for the entire region and the global economy. Let us focus on ending the war. Let us focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and let the United States stop the piracy that threatens freedom of navigation.”

He continued: “In short, this approach was an attempt to resolve the most urgent issue — one that affects international shipping and the global economy. But unfortunately, it appears that the United States does not recognize the importance of this opportunity.”

Baghaei further stated: “Look, we are talking about negotiations. Negotiation is based on give-and-take. Negotiation means being prepared to acknowledge the other side’s demands and concerns. But if you believe that negotiation means one side obtaining complete satisfaction, then that is not negotiation; it is the imposition of will, and that will not happen — at least not with Iran. We will not surrender to their excessive demands because we believe these demands are fundamentally unjust. This has been part of their unjust campaign — an unjust war and illegal aggression against Iran.”

He added: “At this stage, they announced that they cannot approve the Iranian proposal, but I believe we will obtain a more accurate assessment of the situation through the Pakistani mediators.”