Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday rejected Washington’s offer of direct negotiations with the United States, while calling them “meaningless”. Aragchi’s statement came days after US President Donald Trump said he would prefer direct talks with the Islamic republic.
On Thursday, Trump said that he believed that Iran was willing to engage in direct talks over its nuclear programme.

“I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries,” reported Bloomberg on Thursday, quoting Trump.
In March, the US President called on Tehran to hold negotiations on its nuclear programme with Washington, and also threatened to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails.
Tehran has repeatedly indicated its willingness to negotiate, but through intermediaries.

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In his statement on Sunday, Araghchi said, “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.”
“We remain committed to diplomacy and are ready to try the path of indirect negotiations,” the Iranian foreign ministry statement said, while quoting Aragchi.

“Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty,” the foreign minister said.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said on Saturday that his country was willing to engage in dialogue with the US “on equal footing” but he questioned Washington’s sincerity in calling for negotiations, saying “If you want negotiations, then what is the point of threatening?”

Iran’s troublesome nuclear programme

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The West, led by the United States, has for decades accused Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
Iran has always rejected the allegation while maintaining that its nuclear activities are solely for civilian purposes. However, Iran continues to support groups like the Hamas, Hezbollah, etc., while refusing to admit the same openly, which raises questions on the credibility of its refusal.

Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Saturday the country was ready for war. “We are not worried about war at all. We will not be the initiators of war, but we are ready for any war,” IRNA, Iran’s official news agency reported him as saying.

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In 2015, Iran reached a landmark deal with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, France, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, to regulate its nuclear activities.
The 2015 agreement—Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon.

In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump withdrew US from the agreement and reinstated strict sanctions on Iran. A year later, Iran accelerated its nuclear programme.

Last Monday, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s close adviser Ali Larijani had warned that while Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons, it would “have no choice but to do so” if it is attacked.

(With inputs from agencies)

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