Araghchi: No Negotiations Held Between Iran, US So Far

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reiterated his country’s willingness to hold “indirect” talks with the United States while emphasizing that the two countries have held no direct negotiations yet.

Araghchi made the remark on the sidelines of a meeting with members of the Parliament’s Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy on Sunday as he elaborated on the latest situation regarding negotiations between Iran and the US.

“So far, no round of negotiations between Iran and the US has been held,” he said.

He added that Iran has announced its stance that it is open to diplomacy and negotiations, albeit indirectly.

In contradictory messaging, the US president called on Tehran to hold direct negotiations on its nuclear program while threatening to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails.

On March 30, Trump threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

He told NBC News that American and Iranian officials were talking, without giving more details.

Iran has stressed time and again that it will not sit at the negotiating table with the US administration as long as Trump continues his pressure campaign against Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday criticized the language of threat against Tehran, saying the country is willing to engage in negotiations “on equal footing.”

The Iranian foreign minister also on Saturday dismissed direct talks with the United States as “meaningless” given Washington’s threats to use force against the country.

“Basically, direct negotiations would be meaningless with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials,” he added.