Iran’s FM says Tehran considers nuclear weapons ‘unacceptable’

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Iran considers nuclear weapons “unacceptable,” reiterating the country’s longstanding claim amid delicate negotiations with the United States.

“If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,” Araghchi, Iran’s lead negotiator in the talks, says in a televised speech. “We agree with them on this issue.”

The United States, Israel and other Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Iran has categorically denied the claims, instead arguing that it is pursuing a nuclear program for civilian purposes alone. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, Iran is the only country in the world that enriches uranium up to 60 percent. That rate is only a technical step below the 90 percent threshold required for a nuclear weapon, and far above the 3.67 percent limit set under a 2015 agreement with world powers.