The Iranian foreign minister says enrichment of uranium as part of the country’s peaceful nuclear program is “non-negotiable,” and that Tehran-Washington talks would yield no results if held under pressure and lack of mutual respect.

Abbas Araghchi made the assertion on the sidelines of the Iranian administration’s weekly cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran on Wednesday, after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said Tehran “must stop and eliminate” its nuclear enrichment program to reach a deal with Washington.

The remarks came as Araghchi and Witkoff are due to meet again in Oman on Saturday, a week after they held the highest-level talks between the two sides since US President Donald Trump unilateral walked out of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in 2018.

“Iran’s enrichment [program] is a real and genuine matter, and we are ready to build trust regarding potential concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” Araghchi told reporters.

Pointing to the continuation of the so-called US pressure campaign on Iran during the negotiations, the Iranian foreign minister said, “Both our position and our actions are clear. They will not achieve anything through pressure. If the negotiation is based on an equal footing and is carried out in a respectful environment, it can progress, but nothing will be achieved through pressure and imposition of their positions, and we have proven this both in our action and in positions. We will participate in the talks with complete calmness and tranquility, without being influenced by any pressure or current.”

Araghchi also censured the “contradictory and conflicting positions” coming out of the Trump administration ahead of Saturday’s talks.

“As I mentioned, during this time we have heard contradictory and conflicting positions, and Mr. Witkoff has spoken in several ways so far; the real positions will be clarified at the negotiation table,” said the top Iranian diplomat.

“However, we need to be cognizant of the genuine opinions of the American side during the negotiation session. If they come with constructive positions, I am hopeful that we can begin negotiations on the framework of a potential agreement. If not, if the positions remain contradictory and conflicting, it will be difficult.”

Asked about his upcoming trip to Moscow, Araghchi said he is the bearer of a “written message” from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that will to be presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit.

Ayatollah Khamenei said on Tuesday that the indirect talks between Iran and the United State in the Omani capital of Muscat had been “implemented well in their initial steps,” but added that the Islamic Republic was “very skeptical” of the other side.

The United States lifted some of the sanctions as per the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a historical 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. Washington, however, returned the bans three years after conclusion of the deal, and even began piling up more coercive measures on the Islamic Republic. 

The US has termed the adversarial approach as “maximum pressure,” which has also seen American officials repeatedly threatening to use military force against Iranian soil.

The Islamic Republic has, meanwhile, underscored that any direct negotiations with the US were neither useful nor acceptable for Tehran as long as Washington retained its hostile policies.