ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday reiterated that Tehran demands the cessation of sanctions in order to make a deal with Washington on the nuclear issue, stressing that Iran will not be abandoning its enrichment program.

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Iran to act speedily in responding to a proposed deal by his administration regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, warning “something bad will happen” should they not make haste.

In a post on X, Araghchi said that they have not received any written proposal from the US “whether directly or indirectly,” accusing Washington of putting out “confusing and contradictory” messages to the world.

“Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal,” wrote the Iranian top diplomat.

Tehran has repeatedly stressed that a new nuclear deal must lead to the removal of sanctions and economic pressure on the Islamic republic.

Washington and Western powers have sought robust assurances that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.

“There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty] signatories, too,” Araghchi said on Friday.

Trump, during his first presidential term in 2018, walked away from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, which was introduced three years earlier in 2015 by his predecessor Barack Obama. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal provided sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for the placement of curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.