Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a state visit to China that Iran has an “inalienable” right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, highlighting divisions over a key issue that contributed to the failure of recent U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.
“The right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes is an inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Lavrov said during a Tuesday press conference following a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the Times of Israel.
Uranium enrichment remained a central dispute in the negotiations, which ended without agreement over the weekend in Islamabad.
The issue has been at the core of U.S. demands aimed at preventing Iran from advancing its nuclear program.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, President Trump said Iran’s nuclear ambitions remain the primary obstacle to a deal.
Responding to concerns about the war and energy prices ahead of the midterm elections, he said the negotiations continue to center on whether Iran will be allowed to pursue nuclear capabilities.
“We didn’t get there on the important issue. They want to have nuclear weapons. They’re not going to have nuclear weapons,” Trump declared.
“I’ve been saying that for 30 years. I would never allow that to happen before I was in politics. And that country will not have nuclear weapons.”
The president also pointed to U.S. military strength during the interview. “So we have the greatest military equipment. We have the greatest people. We have the strongest military in the world by far, and everybody sees it, whether it’s Venezuela or what we’ve done with Iran.”
He added: “And when I read, you know, the fake news talking about how well Iran’s doing, they’re not doing well at all. They’re getting killed. I could take out Iran in one day.”
The remarks reflect continuing disagreement among global powers over Iran’s nuclear program as diplomatic efforts remain unresolved following the Islamabad talks.
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