‘They fear our atomic bomb': Iran's Araghchi's hard line after talks with US

Two days after talks with Washington Iran has once again said it will not get intimidated by the United States and the US naval deployment in the Gulf. Its top diplomat on Sunday said that Tehran's strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, addressing diplomats in Tehran said his country will stick to its stand of enriching Uranium.

This has been the major bone of contention between both Iran and US. In the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict in June last year, US had bombed Iranian atomic sites.

The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and warplanes have already been moved to the Gulf to pressurise Iran into an agreement on the issue of enriching uranium that can give Iran the capabilities of developing nuclear weapons.

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“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others,” Araghchi said during his address to diplomats in Tehran.

He spoke about the US fearing that Iran would build atomic bomb which actually was not the case.

“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is in the power to say no to the powers," he said, as quoted by AP.

Iran has maintained that the uranium enrichment is not for building a nuclear weapon, however, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency question the motive as they say that Tehran had an organized military program to seek the bomb up until 2003.