US says chances of renewed nuclear talks with Iran 'far away' after Tehran opens door for negotiations

The United States expressed their doubt over the chances of resuming nuclear talks with Iran after its supreme leader hinted at the possibility of returning to the negotiations over the nuclear programmes with the former.

"We will judge Iran's leadership by their actions, not their words," said a State Department spokesperson on Tuesday (August 27).

"If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness or a new approach, they should stop nuclear escalations and start meaningfully cooperating with the IAEA," the spokesperson added while speaking about the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which is an intergovernmental watchdog that has often faced subversion by Tehran.

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The State Department spokesperson said that a negotiated solution is still the best way to contain the nuclear programme in Iran, however, diplomacy has hit a roadblock because the country has failed to co-operate with the IAEA and adopted escalatory actions.

"We are far away from anything like that right now," the spokesperson said.

Iran's green signal on renewed nuclear talks with US

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a green signal to the country's newly elected president Masoud Pezeshkian to restart negotiations over nuclear programmes with the United States on Tuesday (August 27), while at the same time warning that the government of the country should not place any trust in Washington DC.

"This does not mean that we cannot interact with the same enemy in certain situations," said Khamenei, as per the official transcript of his remarks. "There is no harm in that, but do not place your hopes in them," he added.

The remarks of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defined the red lines for any talks happening under Pezeshkian's government and renewed his warnings regarding not trusting the United States, as he said, “Do not trust the enemy.”

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After the collapse of the nuclear deal, Iran crossed all the limits which were placed on the programme by the deal and enriched uranium by up to 60 per cent purity.

Iran also disrupted the surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA and imposed a bar on some of the most experienced inspectors of theVienna-based agency. Iran has also continuously threatened to pursue nuclear weapons if required.

(With inputs from agencies)