Iran open to negotiations with US; conditions not to change: Leader’s aide
Tehran denies any talks with Washington despite Trump claim
Head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi said on Tuesday that Iran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States based on equal footing and mutual respect while insisting that Tehran will not budge on its positions.
“They have to make the first move to show that they are ready to engage with us on the conditions that we put… it has to be based on equal footing and mutual respect,” said Kamal Kharrazi, who is also an adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
“The agenda would be prepared in advance to ensure the clarity of substance and the process of discussions.”
“Unfortunately, President (Donald) Trump does not believe in diplomatic engagement but rather prefers to use force to achieve his objectives,” he added.
Later on Tuesday, Trump claimed that Iran is “very much” signaling interest in striking a deal with the US over its nuclear program.
“They’d like very much to make a deal with us, and they call us, and we’ll end up probably doing that, that’s Iran,” Trump said in a room filled with high-profile guests at a White House dinner honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“I am totally open to it, and we’re talking to them, and we start a process.” He added, “It would be a nice thing to have a deal with Iran,” suggesting that Saudi support could facilitate negotiations.
Iran sharply rejected any notion of negotiations on Wednesday, directly contradicting Trump’s claim that talks were underway.
“There is no process of negotiation between Iran and the United States,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. Baqaei reiterated Iran’s long-standing position that engaging with the US is illogical while Washington continues to prioritize military pressure over diplomacy.
No change in Iran’s conditions
Kharrazi, indicated that Iran’s conditions for a rapprochement with Washington have not changed since the US and Israel struck its nuclear facilities in June, adding that uranium enrichment will continue because the country needs the fuel for its power plants and for medical purposes. Tehran’s ballistic missile program, which he said is expanding, will also be off the negotiating table. “It is only the nuclear issue we will discuss with the United States,” he said.
The Trump administration and Iran were in the middle of talks to settle their dispute in June when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, eventually drawing in Washington, which carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, the first direct US attack inside Iran.
Kharrazi said the “degree of enrichment,” not enrichment itself, would be the focus of potential negotiations with the US.
Iran ready for any confrontation
Asked if he is concerned about another military confrontation with the US or Israel, he said, “Everything is possible. But we are ready for that.”
Back in June, Washington had reportedly made a proposal for a nuclear deal under which the US would invest in Iran’s civilian nuclear power program and join a consortium that would oversee the enrichment of low-level uranium inside Iran for an unspecified amount of time. That potential consortium would be expected to include Middle Eastern nations and the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
At the time, Iranian officials repeatedly said they are open to the idea of an enrichment consortium but insisted Iran must be able to keep control of its own enrichment capabilities.
Asked if there is room to reach an understanding with the US on Iran’s nuclear program, including on a potential consortium, Kharrazi said, “I think so.”
“If there would be genuine negotiations between Iran and the United States, there are ways and means (of) how to ensure that Iran can continue its enrichment and at the same time assure the others that it’s not going to look for nuclear weapons.”
Kharrazi also had a message for Trump.
“Start with a positive approach with Iran. If it will be positive, certainly it will be reciprocated. But for that, they (the US) have to refrain from any force against Iran,” he said. “They have tried that and they now understand that it’s not acceptable and it’s not workable.”