Iran says reviewing US response to proposal
Nuclear issue not on agenda of talks: Araghchi
The Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed receiving Washington’s response to Tehran’s 14-point proposal regarding negotiations to end war against the Islamic Republic, saying that reviewing the US response is not easy due to its pattern of “excessive demands and unreasonable requests”.
Speaking at his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran has received the response through Pakistan but did not discuss specific details of the reply, IRNA reported.
“The United States’ habitual greed and unlimited demands never end. We are facing a party that constantly changes its views which will complicate any diplomatic process,” Baqaei added.
He rejected media speculation about nuclear issues based on matters discussed in previous negotiations which exclusively focused on the nuclear issue.
“Therefore, topics about enrichment and uranium are speculation. At this stage, we are not talking about anything other than a complete halt to the war,” the spokesman said.
No nuclear negotiations
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a meeting with the members of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on Monday confirmed the issue, saying that there are currently no nuclear negotiations on the agenda.
On Thursday, Iran delivered a new proposal for peace talks with the US via mediator Pakistan, with negotiations between the two sides frozen despite a weeks-long ceasefire.
Iran’s latest 14-point proposal to the United States reportedly calls for issues between the two countries to be resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire.
Issues such as guarantees of non-aggression, withdrawal of US military forces from the areas surrounding Iran, lifting the naval blockade, release of Iran’s frozen assets, payment of compensation to Tehran for war damage, removal of sanctions, and ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, are also among the topics included in the Iran’s proposal, as per a report by Tasnim.
The war, launched by the US and Israel with a vast wave of surprise strikes on February 28 has been on hold since April 8, but only one round of direct talks has taken place between Iranian and US representatives.
Since the failure of the first round of the negotiations in Pakistan, regional countries have been trying to get the US and Iran to the second round of negotiations.
But Iran refused to participate in the second round due to the US violation of a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire by imposing a blockade on Iran’s ports.
Iranian officials have also blamed the US side for putting forward excessive demands and shifting its position at the negotiating table for the failure of the first negotiations.