Iran vowed on Sunday to rebuild nuclear sites hit by Israeli and US strikes “stronger than before,” following mediator Oman’s call for reviving nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, according to AFP.
US President Donald Trump claimed the strikes had obliterated Iran’s nuclear program. However, the full extent of the damage remains unclear.
In a visit to the Iran’s nuclear organization, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran “will build (the destroyed sites) stronger than before.”
“By destroying buildings… we will not be set back,” he said in a video posted to his official website, noting that Iranian scientists still had the necessary nuclear expertise.
“We want to return to the negotiations between Iran (and) the United States,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said during a panel at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.
Albusaidi added that the negotiations were halted after Israel targeted Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, “just three days before the sixth and possibly decisive round of talks.”
In 2015, Iran signed a landmark 10-year deal with world powers to lift international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.
However, the accord had long been in disarray after the United States unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump’s first term.
In response, Tehran gradually scaled back its own commitments.
However, these talks faced key stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, a step met with utter rejection by European powers which claimed that Tehran is enriching uranium for unpeaceful purposes.
Iran has denied this accusation and said that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
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