A banner depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed next to a ballistic missile at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Sept. 26, 2024. (Credit: AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, the Associated Press reported.
Answering a question from an AP journalist visiting Iran, Araghchi offered "the most direct response" yet from the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program following Israel and the United States' bombing its enrichment sites in June.
"There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring," under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Araghchi said. "There is no enrichment right now because our enrichment facilities have been attacked."
In September, Araghchi had said that enriched nuclear material remained "under the rubble" of facilities damaged during the recent war with Israel.
"All of our material is ... under the rubble of the bombed facilities," said Araghchi in a televised interview, adding that the IAEA was assessing the condition and accessibility of the stockpile.
The remarks came after Iran and the IAEA agreed on a new cooperation framework in September. Tehran had suspended ties with the agency following the 12-day war with Israel in June, which saw Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran has accused the IAEA of failing to condemn those strikes adequately.
Western countries have accused Iran of seeking an atomic weapon — a charge Tehran has consistently denied, maintaining that its nuclear program is peaceful.
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