Iran Asserts Progress in Nuclear Talks Amid Mounting Pressure

Iran's Acting Foreign Minister claims the country has followed the right path in nuclear negotiations and is in an excellent position, in spite of it being under global sanctions for its nuclear program.

Ali Bagheri Kani, one of Iran's top nuclear negotiators, said the incoming president to be elected in Friday's elections, "can move forward on this smooth path" with "fresh energy".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Bagheri discussed the sanctions relief negotiations under former president Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a freak helicopter crash last month.

However, he failed to add that during Raisi's tenure in office since 2021, a series of crises occurred. Iran banned multiple UN inspectors and exceeded uranium enrichment levels beyond UN restrictions and the UN's nuclear chief said in April that Iran was in fact "weeks not months" from a nuclear weapon.

Bagheri's statements contrast starkly with the current reality of the failed nuclear talks. Earlier this month, the UN nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors passed a resolution censuring Iran and demanding that it resolve outstanding issues with the IAEA over its advancing nuclear program.

The development follows a history of UN Security Council sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear ambitions since 2006. While many economic sanctions were suspended in 2015 as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

The latest confidential IAEA report reveals that Tehran has increased its enriched uranium stockpile to over 142 kilograms at 60% enrichment, a 20-kilogram rise since the last report in February.