Two US officials told Axios that the United States informed Iran on Wednesday that it would not agree to Tehran’s request to alter the location and format of the talks scheduled for Friday.
This comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had, hours earlier, claimed: “I think if there is an opportunity for direct engagement with the Iranian side, the United States would be prepared for it.”
In what were described as excessive and interventionist remarks, the US secretary of state also asserted that for negotiations to reach a meaningful outcome, the talks must include issues such as “the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles,” “the nuclear program,” “how the government treats its own people,” and what he called “support for terrorist organizations across the region.”
Rubio had also said: “We would prefer to meet and have discussions. I’m not sure an agreement can be reached … but we are trying to determine whether that is possible or not.”
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking about possible negotiations with the US, had said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to re-enter nuclear negotiations, if these negotiations are fair and equitable. Iran has never sought nuclear weapons, and such weapons have no place in our security calculations. We have always been ready, in the past and now, to build confidence regarding the peaceful nature of our nuclear program. We are prepared to enter negotiations if they are conducted from an equal position, based on mutual interests and with mutual respect, and if the talks are fair and equitable.”
The Iranian foreign minister stressed: “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always taken a responsible position regarding the use of diplomacy as a tool to secure Iran’s national interests and to safeguard regional peace and stability. Previous experiences show a lack of sincerity and goodwill on the part of the United States in the matter of negotiations. Nevertheless, Iran is ready to participate in any diplomatic process that is meaningful, logical and fair, and in which our legitimate and lawful interests and concerns are taken into account.”
Regarding US threats, the Iranian foreign minister also said: “Just as Iran is prepared for negotiations, it is also prepared for war. We have been ready since before the 12-day war. Just as we forcefully responded to the aggressor forces at that time, it will be the same this time. This time, due to the direct involvement of the United States, the situation will be very different from the previous war and, unfortunately, may go beyond the scope of a bilateral conflict. This is the nature of the current conditions. As I said before, I hope rationality prevails and those seeking to drag the region into a full-scale war fail in their objectives.”
NOURNEWS