Iran’s President slams US demands to hand over enriched uranium as UN sanctions loom
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday slammed as “unacceptable” what he described as US demands that Tehran hand over its enriched uranium, as sweeping UN sanctions loomed after nuclear talks collapsed, according to AFP.
All U.N. sanctions on Iran are due to return at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday (0000 GMT) after European powers, known as the E3, triggered a 30-day process accusing Tehran of violating a 2015 deal.
Pezeshkian told reporters in New York that Washington had asked Tehran to relinquish all of its enriched uranium in exchange for a three-month reprieve from sanctions.
The United States “wants us to hand over all our enriched uranium to them, and in return they would give us three months” exemption from sanctions, Pezeshkian said before leaving for Tehran.
“This is by no means acceptable,” he said.
He previously indicated that France had made a similar proposal, offering only a one-month delay.
“Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?” he asked, accusing the United States of pressuring Europeans not to compromise, while reiterating that Iran had no intention of developing nuclear weapons.
