Iran refuses to negotiate “under pressure and intimidation”

Iran will not negotiate “under pressure and intimidation” on its nuclear program, the head of Iranian diplomacy Abbas Araghchi said Thursday after a meeting in Tehran with the head of the IAEA Rafael Grossi.

“We are ready to negotiate on the basis of our national interests and our inalienable rights, but we are NOT ready to negotiate under pressure and intimidation”wrote Araghchi on the social network

Iran will react immediately in the event of foreign pressure

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, warned on Thursday that Iran would respond “immediately” in the event of foreign pressure on his country's nuclear program.

“Any interventionist resolution (by the IAEA, editor's note) in the nuclear affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be subject to immediate countermeasures”Eslami said during a press conference in Tehran with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi.

Rafael Grossi considers “results” with Iran essential to avoid “war”

Rafael Grossi called on Iran on Thursday to “results” with the IAEA regarding the control of its nuclear program to avoid “the war”. “It is essential to obtain concrete, tangible and visible results which will show that this joint work improves the situation (…) and generally keeps us away from conflicts and, ultimately, from war”declared Grossi in Tehran, in the presence of the Iranian nuclear chief. Arriving Wednesday evening in Tehran, Grossi is also due to meet Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, according to the official Irna agency. His talks in Tehran are seen as one of the last chances for diplomacy before Donald Trump returns to the White House.

In 2015, Iran and several countries including the United States reached an agreement in Vienna, after 21 months of negotiations. The text provided for a reduction in international sanctions targeting Iran, in exchange for guarantees that the country does not seek to acquire atomic weapons. Tehran fiercely denies having such military ambitions.