Speaking in a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday, Baqaei said exchanges with the United States have continued through Pakistan after negotiations over the weekend ended without a breakthrough.
“Since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran, several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan,” he said, adding that Pakistan was expected to remain involved in the follow-up contacts.
“Today, we are most likely hosting a delegation from Pakistan,” he said.
Elsewhere in the press briefing, Baqaei dismissed recent US accusations over its nuclear program as baseless and contradictory, reiterating that its activities remain entirely peaceful and under full the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight.
In response to recent accusations by American officials that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, the spokesperson emphasized that Iran’s position is completely clear and based on religious principles and defense doctrine.
He added that the Islamic Republic has never and will never seek nuclear weapons, and the repetition of these claims by Americans indicates their confusion and lack of seriousness.
Baqaei also attributed such accusations to 40-year-old illusions created by the Zionist regime to deceive international public opinion and the United States.
He considered the contradictions in the US President’s statements regarding Iran’s nuclear program unjustifiable, emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear program has always been peaceful, a fact repeatedly confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He added that even the IAEA Director General cannot ignore the full oversight of Iran's nuclear program and its non‑deviation from a peaceful path, and that recent claims about Iran being a few weeks or months away from building a nuclear bomb are completely false.
Baqaei noted that the repetition of baseless allegations by US officials shows that there is no real concern about Iran's nuclear program, and these claims are merely a pretext to pressure Iran.
Referring to the fact that Americans had previously claimed to have destroyed Iran's nuclear program, he stressed that these contradictions are unacceptable not only for Iranian public opinion but for the entire international community.
In response to the US Vice President’s comments about Iran’s economic prosperity if it abandons its nuclear program, Baqaei said that Iran knows very well how to make its economy flourish.
Referring to past US sanctions and threats to push Iran back to the “Stone Age”, he said that American officials, due to the severe damage they have inflicted on Iran’s scientific and industrial infrastructure over the past 40 days, are not in a position to comment on Iran’s economic future.
Baqaei also offered condolences on the martyrdom of former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamal Kharrazi, describing him as one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s diplomacy, a patriotic individual, a highly skilled and distinguished diplomat.
IRNA