Iran on Thursday categorically denied claims by Donald Trump that it will resume negotiations on its nuclear programme with the United States after the 12-day war with Israel and the US attack on its nuclear facilities, in a fresh challenge to the US president, who had assured that talks with Tehran on its uranium enrichment programme would resume “next week” – talks about which US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had expressed optimism.
In statements quoted by several agencies, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqqchi denied during an interview on Iranian state television that Tehran had plans to start negotiations with the US, categorically denying what he described as “speculation” about Iran’s possible return to the negotiating table.
“I would like to say clearly that no agreement, arrangement or conversation has been made to start new negotiations… No plan to start talks has been established yet,” said the foreign minister of Iran, whose parliament in the last few hours approved a proposal to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA).
Araqchi insisted that such messages “should not be taken seriously” and added that the Iranian government is currently considering whether to continue negotiations on its uranium enrichment programme, after the latest rounds of contacts were interrupted by Israel’s attack on its atomic facilities.
The remarks come after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused Trump of “exaggerating, as usual” the consequences of the recent bombing of its nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, and denied the US president’s claims that Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back “decades”. Khamenei claimed that the attacks had not caused major damage, although the Iranian foreign minister acknowledged that the damage was “serious”. Some US intelligence reports cited by The New York Times have estimated, however, that the Trump-ordered attack has set back Iran’s nuclear programme by “only a few months” at most.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
