‘They fear our atomic bomb’: Days after US talks, Iran says it will not give up Uranium enrichment

Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday that Tehran’s strength lay in its ability to “say no to the great powers,” adopting a hardline stance following talks with the United States over its nuclear program and amid nationwide protests, as reported by AP.

Speaking at a summit in Tehran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats that Iran would maintain its position on retaining the right to enrich uranium—a key point of dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump, who ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June during the 12-day Iran–Israel war.

While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday described the talks with U.S. officials in Oman as “a step forward,” Araghchi’s comments underscored the difficulties that remain.

The United States has already deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with additional ships and warplanes, to the Middle East in an effort to pressure Iran into an agreement and to ensure it has the military capability to strike the Islamic Republic if President Trump decides to do so.

“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others," Araghchi said. "They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is in the power to say no to the powers.”

Iran will never surrender the right to enrich uranium, even if war “is imposed on us”, its foreign minister said defying pressure from Washington, AFP reported. "Iran has paid a very heavy price for its peaceful nuclear programme and for uranium enrichment," Abbas Araghchi told a forum in Tehran.

"Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour," he said, two days after he met US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman.

Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khamenei's blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks.

“The Iran-U.S. talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. ... The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”

It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”

Araghchi appeared to be taking the threat of an American military strike seriously, as many worried Iranians have in recent weeks. He noted that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the U.S. “attacked us in the midst of negotiations."

“If you take a step back (in negotiations), it is not clear up to where it will go,” Araghchi said.

Iran's foreign minister declared Sunday that his country was not intimidated by the US naval deployment in the Gulf. "Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," Abbas Araghchi said, after US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff visited the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the region, as reported by AFP.

(With inputs from agencies)