Iran Tells Pakistan It Won't Halt Uranium Enrichment Amid Talks Of Nuclear Deal With US

Last Updated:July 14, 2025, 21:45 IST

The statement was made by Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a meeting with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (AP file photo)

Iran on Monday said it will not stop enriching uranium amid talks of a renewed nuclear deal with the United States, calling it one of its “red lines."

The statement was made by Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a meeting with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, according to a report by Iran .

“Uranium enrichment is one of our red lines," Velayati said. “If negotiations are to be contingent on halting enrichment, they will definitely not take place."

Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Sunday to participate in trilateral talks with Iranian and Iraqi officials ahead of the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage. Further details of his meeting with Velayati have not yet been released.

Velayati’s comments come just days after reports emerged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had encouraged Iran to accept a “zero-enrichment" clause as part of any renewed nuclear agreement with the United States.

According to a report by Axios, which cited European and Israeli officials, Moscow proposed that Iran consider shifting its enrichment activities outside the country under strict international supervision. Putin reportedly conveyed this suggestion to both US President Donald Trump and Iranian representatives during meetings held on Saturday.

The idea of halting uranium enrichment inside Iran is expected to be a central demand from the US side if nuclear talks resume. Trump has been clear that any new deal with Tehran must include a complete ban on domestic enrichment.

However, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency swiftly dismissed the reports. Tasnim, quoting an “informed source", stated that Iran had received no such message from Putin, nor had any discussions about zero enrichment taken place during his recent meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Meanwhile, Iran said earlier on Monday that no date, time, or location has been fixed for the next round of nuclear talks with the US.

The negotiations were interrupted by a recent conflict between Iran and Israel. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said no details had been finalised regarding a possible meeting between Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Araghchi and Witkoff held five rounds of talks since April, marking the highest-level contact between the two countries since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. However, no agreement has yet been reached.

These talks, mediated by Oman, stalled after Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on 13 June. The strikes sparked a 12-day conflict, during which the US also took military action.

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