He blamed the Tel Aviv regime as the main culprit of the Natanz incident and named it a crime against humanity.
"The Zionists want to take revenge on the Iranian people," Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a video conference.
Addressing Natanz incident, the spokesperson explained: "It is too early to comment on the amount of damage we have seen in Natanz, and the teams are still investigating."
"But I promise that the damaged facilities in Nazanz are of the first-generation centrifuges, which are very basic compared to what the Islamic Republic has now. They will be replaced by modern ones."
"What happened in Natanz cannot make Iran's advanced indigenous nuclear industry retreat nor can it be effective in removing the oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people."
Regarding the amount of damage, he said: "Basically, the Natanz incident happened due to a failure in the electrical system. The amount of damage must be determined according to the testing of all centrifuges; But for every centrifuge that fails, there is a more advanced one to replace it."
"This was a nuclear terrorism that could have led to a humanitarian catastrophe, so it is a crime against humanity."
"Different answers must be given to this criminal act of the occupying Tel Aviv regime, some of which will be given to the international authorities," he said, "FM Zarif and the Iranian representative in New York are taking the affiliated measures, which will be announced today or tomorrow and will be made public."
"Some of Iran's actions will not be publicized, however," he added.
"Certainly the IAEA and other international authorities must do their part in not only to condemn but also to avert occurrence of such incidents," he noted, "The fact that the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime vows that he will do his best not to let the anti-Iranian sanctions be lifted means that they want to achieve their goals by taking revenge on the Iranian people."
He promised that the Tel Aviv regime will not achieve its set goals and Iran will act upon its own interests. "I promise the Iranian people that Iranian diplomats will spare no effort to lift the sanctions as soon as possible within the framework of Iran's dignity and national interests," Khatibzadeh said.
Russian FM due in Tehran
Answering a question about the Russian Foreign Minister's visit to Tehran, he said: "During Sergei Lavrov's visit to Tehran, he will hold numerous meetings with Iranian officials."
"According to the held talks, the 10-year comprehensive cooperation agreement between Iran and Russia, which has been recently expired, will be extended," he added.
Ongoing talks in Vienna
In response to a question about the Vienna talks, he said: "Negotiations only revolve around removal of US sanctions."
Emphasizing that Iran's policy regarding the return of the United States to its commitments is clear, he said: "The United States has made every effort in the past four years [during Trump's tenure] to destroy the JCPOA."
"US officials repeatedly stated that they will impose sanctions in order to exert maximum pressure against Iran," he added.
About the issue that The definition of Iran and the United States seems to differ in the extent of sanctions for the return of Iran and the United States to their obligations, Khatibzadeh said: "We made it clear that the situation must return to January 2017. Iran has nothing to do with internal issues and policies of the US."
"The United States has a number of responsibilities under Resolution 2231. Paragraph 29 of the JCPOA clarifies all US commitments. It states that the United States should refrain from any action aimed at normalizing Iran's trade and relations. All the units and individuals that were sanctioned during the Trump era are subject to the same anti-JCPOA sanctions. There is no difference for us and they are all part of the maximum and illegal US pressure against Iran."
About Iran's verifications, he said: "Time is not ripe to talk about that but verifications will not be a difficult job. Many of these issues can be verified if the United States really wants to get back on track and do everything before it announces it. We have a number of interrelated issues that need to be addressed effectively and practically, not on paper."
South Korean PM visit to Tehran
Answering a question about the South Korean PM's visit to Tehran, He explained: "One of the most important issues is the release of Iran's foreign assets in South Korea, and this issue is related to South Korea and has nothing to do with the US extraterritorial sanctions."
Lamenting that Tehran-Seoul ties have been damaged due to lack of required actions, he added: "Of course, some solutions have been discussed and we have to wait and see which ones will be implemented, at what level and to what extent."
On Iran-Iraq ties
Regarding the strategies and steps taken by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to increase trade activities with Iraqi Kurdistan, he said: "Iran-Iraq relations are a multi-layered, popular and strategic relationship, and therefore very good consultations between the two sides are underway on all sectors."
Answering a question about Iraqi officials' excuses for paying Iran's debts, he said: "We talked in detail about Iraq's debts during the Iraqi Foreign Minister's visit to Iran. The governor of Iran Central Bank visited Iraq. A number of actions have been taken and a number of actions are underway. There are definitely obstacles, but some progress has been made."
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