Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States “will lead nowhere” if Washington insists that Tehran drop its uranium enrichment activity to zero, state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi on Monday as saying.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff reiterated Washington’s stance on Sunday that any new deal between the US and Iran must include an agreement not to enrich uranium, a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs.

“Our position on enrichment is clear and we have repeatedly stated that it is a national achievement from which we will not back down,” Takht-Ravanchi said.

Western countries, including the United States and Israel, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons — an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, claiming that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes. However, Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, has ramped up its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, which has no application beyond nuclear weapons, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.

“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff told ABC’s “This Week.”

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on his X account: “If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome. Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal.”

Earlier this year, Witkoff had indicated that the US would accept Iran maintaining a limited enrichment capability, but the Trump administration has since hardened its public stance.

During his visit to the Gulf region last week, US President Donald Trump said a deal was very close but that Iran needed to move quickly.

Negotiations between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities have reportedly reached the “expert” level, meaning the sides are trying to reach an agreement on the details of a possible deal. But a major sticking point remains Iran’s enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration increasingly insists the Islamic Republic must give up.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials have increasingly warned they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Israel has also threatened to attack Iran, vowing not to let Tehran get nuclear weapons. Israel views an Iranian bomb as an existential threat amid the Islamic Republic’s repeated calls to destroy Israel.

During his first, 2017-21 term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s enrichment activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions.

Trump, who branded the 2015 accord one-sided in Iran’s favor, also reimposed sweeping US sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic responded by escalating enrichment.