Latest news with #Ali Velayati
Times of Oman
5 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Iran says open to negotiations provided US respects its "red lines"
Tehran: Iran has said that it will not oppose negotiations with the US, provided the talks are held without preconditions and respect Tehran's red lines, including its right to enrich uranium, according to a senior advisor to Iranian leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. "We have no objection to negotiations that are held without preconditions and that respect the Islamic Republic's red lines," Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the state media IRNA said on Monday. "They say Iran must abandon uranium enrichment, but this is one of our red lines. If talks are conditional on halting enrichment, they simply won't happen," Velayati said. The United States and Iran had held several rounds of negotiations prior to the Israeli strikes that sparked off a 12-day-war with Iran. Both US and Iran have signalled a willingness to continue their talks aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme. Omani and Qatari officials have been involved in the mediations between Tehran and Washington. IRNA report cited Khamenei advisor Velayati condemned Israel's aggression against Iran and its crimes in Gaza, accusing the United States of backing such moves and called for unity and coordination among Islamic countries in response. Velayati's remarks followed the statement by Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei that a date has not been set for any meeting with the United States. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday stressed Iran's commitment to diplomacy and opposition to war, while utilizing political and diplomatic resources to safeguard its rights. "We advocate for diplomacy and constructive engagement while opposing war. To keep the shadow of war away from our country and to defend the natural rights of the Iranian nation, we will utilise all available political and diplomatic resources," Pezeshkian said in his address to Iranians living abroad, the state news agency reported. Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' on June 13 bombing Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets, and the US retaliated with attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on June 22. The Iranian Armed Forces launched retaliatory strikes, targeting key positions across the Israeli-occupied territories and on the US military airbase in Qatar. The 12-day war came to an end on June 24 when Israel declared a unilateral halt to its aggression, announced on its behalf by US President Donald Trump. Washington maintains that Iran's uranium enrichment programme could lead to developing nuclear bombs, while Tehran has consistently denied the claim, insisting that its nuclear programme is meant for civilian purposes. In July 2015, the Iran nuclear agreement- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and several world powers, including the United States, which capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms. The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord. Since then, Iran has started exceeding agreed-upon limits to its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 2019, and began enriching uranium to higher concentrations up to 60 per cent purity, which is very close to the weapons-grade level. Earlier this month, Iranian President Pezeshkian signed into law a bill suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). State broadcaster of Iran reported that Pezeshkian ratified the bill after Parliament approving the legislation.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Iran rejects US nuclear talks conditioned on enrichment halt
Iran said on Monday there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities. Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, but Israel derailed the talks when it launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, touching off 12 days of war Since the end of the hostilities, both Iran and the United States have signalled a willingness to return to the table, though Tehran has said it will not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power. 'If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place,' Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. The remarks came after foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran had not set a date for any meeting with the United States. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran. Photo: AFP 'For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,' Baqaei said of plans for a meeting between Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Iran rejects US nuclear talks conditioned on enrichment halt
Iran said on Monday there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities. Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, but Israel derailed the talks when it launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, touching off 12 days of war Since the end of the hostilities, both Iran and the United States have signalled a willingness to return to the table, though Tehran has said it will not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power. 'If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place,' Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. The remarks came after foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran had not set a date for any meeting with the United States. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran. Photo: AFP 'For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,' Baqaei said of plans for a meeting between Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
CNA
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Iran says no nuclear talks if US insists it stop enrichment
TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday (Jul 14) there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities. Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, but Israel derailed the talks when it launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, touching off 12 days of war. Since the end of the hostilities, both Iran and the US have signalled willingness to return to the table, although Tehran has said it will not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power. "If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place," Ali Velayati, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. The remarks came after foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran had not set a date for any meeting with the US. "For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter," Baqaei said of plans for a meeting between Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff. Araghchi and Witkoff had previously failed to conclude a deal after five rounds of talks that began in April and were the highest-level contact between the two countries since Washington abandoned a landmark nuclear agreement in 2018. The Omani-mediated discussions paused after Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities on Jun 13, with the US later joining its ally and carrying out limited strikes. "We have been serious in diplomacy and the negotiation process, we entered with good faith, but as everyone witnessed, before the sixth round the Zionist regime, in coordination with the US, committed military aggression against Iran," Baqaei said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement on Monday that Iran "supports diplomacy and constructive engagement". "We continue to believe that the window for diplomacy remains open, and we will seriously pursue this peaceful path." Israel and Western nations accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied. While it is the only non-nuclear weapons power to enrich uranium to 60-per cent purity, close to the level needed for a warhead, the United Nation's atomic energy watchdog has said it had no indication Iran was working to weaponise its stockpiles. SANCTIONS Israel's offensive, which it said was aimed at thwarting a nuclear threat from the Islamic republic, killed nuclear scientists and top-ranking military officers, but also hit residential areas. The US launched its own set of strikes on Jun 22, hitting Iran's uranium enrichment facility at Fordo in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli cities, and attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for Washington's strikes. The extent of the damage to the Islamic republic's nuclear programme remains unknown, and Baqaei said it was "still under investigation". Pezeshkian in his latest statement warned of an "even more crushing retaliation" to any "new aggression against Iranian territory". Baqaei said on Monday that Iran remained in contact with Britain, France and Germany, the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal that the US later withdrew from. The Europeans have threatened to trigger the deal's "snapback" mechanism, which allows the reimposition of UN sanctions in the event of non-compliance. Baqaei said Tehran was "in continuous contact with these three countries", but added that he "cannot provide an exact date" for the next meeting with them. There was "no legal, moral or political basis" for reimposing sanctions, according to Baqaei, as Iran was still committed to the 2015 agreement. He added that such a move would be met with an "appropriate and proportionate" response, following Iranian threats to quit the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. After the US pulled out of the 2015 deal with Iran during Donald Trump's first term as president, Tehran began rolling back its commitments to the agreement, which restricted its atomic activities in return for sanctions relief.
