'US military deployment does not scare us': Iran rules out giving up uranium enrichment in its talks with Washington

Iran consulting with its 'strategic partners' China and Russia about talks with US, says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Insisting that it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States, Iran has ruled out ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday dismissed the US military buildup in the Middle East, including the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, saying, "Their military deployment in the region does not scare us" .

Araghchi told a forum in Tehran that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously, reported AFP.

On February 6, the US and Iran reopened talks in Oman for the first time since Israel's 12-day war with the Islamic republic in June 2025, which the US briefly joined.

Araghchi later said Iran was consulting with its "strategic partners" China and Russia about the talks.

"Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour," Araghchi said at the forum.

"Their military deployment in the region does not scare us," he added.

Washington first threatened to intervene over Tehran's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, with authorities on Sunday arresting three prominent reformists accused of anti-government rhetoric.

They also imposed another hefty prison sentence on Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested before the protests, on charges of harming national security.

Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be "a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme".

Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East's only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which the Islamic republic denies.

"They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say 'no' to the great powers," Araghchi said.

The US and Israel want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear question and include Iran's ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region, issues Iran refuses to include in the talks.

Lead negotiators of the US, envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law of President Donald Trump Jared Kushner, visited the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, the US military's Central Command said.

The ship was dispatched to the Middle East several weeks ago as part of military buildup in the region, following Trump's threats against Iran.

In a social media post, Witkoff said the carrier and its strike group were "keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength".

The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks "very good" and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said they "constitute a step forward".

Fresh tariffs

Following first round of talks in Oman on February 6, Trump signed an executive order calling for fresh tariffs on countries still doing business with Iran.

The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.

At the Tehran forum on Sunday, Araghchi said ongoing "sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations".

(With agency inputs)