FM spox: Mediated Iran-US contacts not viewed as ‘negotiation phase’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that Iran and the United States are in contact through intermediaries but this does not mean “entering a negotiation phase."
Baqaei made the comment in response to a question about recent remarks by the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff claiming that Washington is “getting calls” from the Iranian officials.
"Negotiations make sense when the parties reach a consensus and a mutual understanding about respect for each other's rights and concerns, and engage in dialogue on equal footing,” the spokesman said.
“We are not at that stage, and as long as there are excessive demands and expectations, there will be no basis for negotiation and understanding," he added.
Referring to the efforts of some countries for mediation over the past year, Baqaei said, "It is natural that countries which have tried to play a role in solving the problems during this period will continue to pursue this process."
Iran and the US started nuclear negotiations in April and held five rounds of talks to resolve a decades-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.
However, military aggressions by the US and Israel on Iran in June led to the collapse of the negotiations.