Iran Rejects Uranium Enrichment Limits Before US Talks

Iran's top nuclear official on Thursday firmly rejected any curbs on the country's uranium enrichment program, asserting that demands from the United States and Israel would go unfulfilled as peace talks with Washington approach.

Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, made the remarks during commemorations for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. "The claims and demands of our enemies to restrict Iran's enrichment programme are merely wishes that will be buried," Eslami said, according to Iran's ISNA news agency. He added that past military actions, including the ongoing war, had failed to hinder Tehran's nuclear efforts and that negotiations now represented another attempt by adversaries to impose limits.

The statements came ahead of scheduled discussions between Iranian and U.S. officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, set to begin Friday or Saturday under Pakistani mediation. The talks aim to build on a tentative two-week ceasefire announced Tuesday, which followed more than a month of conflict that erupted on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Those airstrikes, including a 12-day escalation in June,...