A member of the Iranian negotiating team says non-nuclear issues are not on the agenda during the country’s indirect talks with the United States.

“Basically, nothing has been defined as ‘other topics’ in the negotiations,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said in a televised interview on Wednesday.

Iran believes that the talks with the US should focus on the two main issues of the nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions, he added.

He noted that Iran pursues specific plans and objectives in the talks with the US and “seeks to achieve a win-win, fair, logical and lasting agreement.”

That agreement should be in such a way as to prevent violations in a short period of time or in case of a government change, he explained.

“We have announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to achieve such an agreement without any humiliation or unreasonable pressure,” Gharibabadi said, adding that during the first round of Tehran-Washington talks, the two sides agreed on the frameworks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy for West Asia affairs, led the first round of indirect talks in the Omani capital of Muscat on Saturday and agreed to resume the talks on April 19 at the same level.

Iran’s uranium enrichment right non-negotiable

The senior diplomat once again reiterated that Iran would never give up its right to uranium enrichment.

“If the opposite side is concerned about the militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, this issue is negotiable and can be discussed,” Gharibabadi added.

“However, if their goal is the complete shutdown of the nuclear industry, especially enrichment, such a demand is neither logical nor can it be the focal point of the negotiations,” he emphasized.

Gharibabadi made the remark after Witkoff said in a statement on Tuesday that Iran must “eliminate its nuclear enrichment” program to reach a deal with the US, suggesting the Trump administration is hardening its position in negotiations with Tehran.

On Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister said the issue of 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 a lack of mutual respect.

Iranians should benefit from removal of sanctions

Gharibabadi said the removal of “cruel, illegal and unilateral” sanctions against Iran was among the main issues discussed during the Muscat talks.

“The lifting of these sanctions should be in a way that the Iranian people reap the benefits from its real and practical advantages, rather than being merely inked on paper,” he added.

If sanctions have a negative impact on Iran’s economic interests, they must be removed, the diplomat emphasized.

Threats, sanctions not compatible with logic of negotiations

The Iranian deputy foreign minister said threats and sanctions are not compatible with the logic of negotiations.

Gharibabadi emphasized that Iran is in possession of its own means and will pursue specific mechanisms to respond to threats.

As announced by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in case of any threat against Iran’s national security, Tehran would also jeopardize the security of those who have posed the threat, he added.