Iran will accept nuclear curbs if sanctions lifted, Araghchi says

Softening of stance comes as supreme leader Khamenei bemoans low oil production

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Europe is 'enabling the excesses of Washington'. AP

Iran will accept limits on its nuclear programme including restrictions to uranium enrichment if international sanctions are lifted, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper in Britain on Sunday, he wrote that Iran “is ready to forge a realistic and lasting bargain that entails ironclad oversight and curbs on enrichment in exchange for the termination of sanctions”.

His apparent softening of Tehran's stance on enrichment came as the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei bemoaned Iran's oil production levels and called for the diversification of its export markets.

“Our oil production methods are old methods; the tools are old … We are behind many of the oil-rich regions of the world,” Mr Khamenei said in a meeting with cabinet members.

“Oil production in the country – with the importance it has in the economy, which is obvious – is low.”

He called for “more dynamism” in oil exports, stressing the need for multiple and diverse customers, with China still the dominant buyer.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for the diversification of the country's export markets. EPA

Iran's oil industry has been under crippling western sanctions since the US withdrew from a 2015 deal with world powers, in which Iran had agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

US President Donald Trump has pursued a “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran to weaken its economy since he returned to office for a second term this year.

Relations with Europe have also deteriorated over Iran's nuclear programme. Last month, Britain, France and Germany set off the so-called “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal to reimpose UN sanctions.

Iran also halted co-operation with the UN's International Atomic Energy Energy this year following a 12-day war with Israel, during which the US and Israel struck key Iranian nuclear plants.

The conflict disrupted talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at reaching a new deal.

“Failing to seize on this fleeting window of opportunity may have consequences destructive for the region and beyond on a whole new level,” Mr Araghchi wrote in his opinion piece, referring to negotiations with Britain, France and Germany to avoid the reimposition of UN sanctions.

Under the “snapback” mechanism, the so-called E3 countries gave Iran a month to negotiate before the sanctions are reimposed.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met Mr Araghchi on Thursday to seek a “negotiated solution” to the standoff.

Mr Araghchi said in The Guardian that Tehran remains open to diplomacy and “there is still time – and a dire need – for an honest conversation”.

He accused Europe of “enabling the excesses of Washington” as a means to “provide them with a seat at the table on other issues”.

The minister called such a strategy a “reckless course of action” and a “grave miscalculation that is bound to backfire”.

Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons – something Tehran denies, defending its right to what it insists is a civilian nuclear programme.

Iran has previously insisted its right to enrich uranium is “unshakeable”.