Poland’s foreign minister says Iran ‘prioritizing uranium enrichment over its own security’

WARSAW

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday that Iran is prioritizing uranium enrichment over its own security and that the EU had warned Tehran about possible attacks.

Sikorski, speaking to the press during the European Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, said: "The EU did what it could, which was to tell the Iranian side that if it did not give up enriching uranium, it could expect an attack. It was Iran that decided that enriching uranium was more important to it," Sikorski said.

Iran had been negotiating over its nuclear program with the US until Israel launched an attack on its military and nuclear facilities on June 13, also killing its top military commanders and scientists.

The US, meanwhile, conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday, with President Donald Trump claiming "Monumental Damage."

Washington had demanded Iran to fully scrap its uranium enrichment activities, which Western powers view as a pathway to building nuclear weapons.

Iran, however, says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

​​​​​​​Sikorski also expressed concern that tensions in the Middle East could distract attention from the war in Ukraine, which has continued since February 2022. "All the more so since Russia, in such a rogue way, took advantage of the opportunity, increased its airstrikes and increased its bombings. We have another day of sowing death in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities," he said.

The minister added that Poland had completed the evacuation of its citizens from the region. “Around midnight, a plane with our compatriots landed. This means that we have evacuated about 300 people, he said.

Sikorski spoke last week with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and reaffirmed support for de-escalation.