Latest news with #nuclear talks
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
President Sheikh Mohamed discusses ties with President of Iran
President Sheikh Mohamed on Tuesday held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone. The two men discussed enhancing bilateral relations while also reviewing a number of regional and international issues with a particular focus on the Middle East, state news agency Wam reported. Sheikh Mohamed also stressed the UAE's keenness to support consolidating peace and stability across the region. The call followed a statement issued by Iran on Monday that said it would not resume nuclear talks with the US if a deal is conditional on halting its uranium enrichment activities. Tehran and Washington held several rounds of negotiations aimed at reviving a nuclear deal, but those efforts were derailed after Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran in June, triggering 12 days of war. Following the ceasefire, both sides signalled interest in returning to the negotiating table. However, Tehran has remained firm that it will not relinquish its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power.
South China Morning Post
2 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
2 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
2 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.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Iran says it would resume nuclear talks with US if guaranteed no further attacks
Iran's foreign minister said Saturday that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against it, state media reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear program, but, 'assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.' Referring to the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites, and the US strike on June 22, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, 'first of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.' Following the strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors. Araghchi said that under Iranian law, the country will answer the agency's request for cooperation 'case by case,' based on Iran's interests. He also said any inspection by the agency should be done based on Iran's 'security' concerns as well as the safety of the inspectors. 'The risk of proliferation of radioactive ingredients and an explosion of ammunition that remains from the war in the attacked nuclear sites is serious,' he said. He also reiterated Iran's position on the need to continue enriching uranium on its soil. US President Donald Trump has insisted that cannot happen. Israel claims it acted because Tehran was within reach of a nuclear weapon. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organized nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60 percent – a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the US airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction.
