Iran’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Tehran was ready to resume indirect negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program if Washington guarantees the military option is off the table.
“We are prepared to engage in indirect negotiations with the United States, provided the Americans assure us that they will not launch any military aggression during the negotiations,” Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat published on Tuesday.
“We never left the negotiating table at any time. We were at the heart of the negotiations when Israel launched an attack against us and the United States joined in,” Araghchi added.
The Trump administration had set a 60-day deadline to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran. On day 61, with four rounds of negotiations completed and a fifth looming, Israel launched a surprise military attack on Iran on June 13.
The United States joined the campaign on June 22, striking three major nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.
The military campaign, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, involved B-2 stealth bombers armed with 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) so-called bunker buster bombs designed to destroy fortified underground facilities.
Trump praised the precision strikes, saying Iran’s nuclear facilities targeted in the attacks were “totally obliterated.”
Araghchi warned: “If they believe that what they have been unable to achieve through military attacks can be accomplished through negotiations, then these negotiations will not take place.”
The United States has demanded that Iran halt all uranium enrichment activities. Tehran insists that, under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it retains the right to pursue enrichment.
In July, Trump said the United States was in no hurry to enter talks with Iran due to the effectiveness of the strikes.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom are pressuring Iran to resume talks with the US and resolve disputes over Tehran's nuclear program, including full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The most recent round of negotiations between Iran and the three European countries concluded in Geneva on Tuesday, with no concrete outcome announced.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday rejected calls by Tehran moderates for direct negotiations with the United States, insisting that Washington’s hostility cannot be resolved through talks.
