Tehran (TDI): Iran said on Monday it was open to indirect negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump had demanded talks for a new nuclear agreement.
“The way is open for indirect talks,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, dismissing the prospect of direct negotiations “until there is a change in the other side’s approach towards Iran”.
He said Tehran would not engage in direct negotiations with Washington under threats and so long as President Trump maintain his “maximum pressure” policy, AFP reported.
Under that policy in his first term as president, Trump withdrew the US from a landmark deal on Iran’s nuclear program in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on the country.
The agreement, sealed in 2015 between Iran and Western powers, required Tehran to limit its nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief.
Western nations including the US have long accused Tehran of pursing a nuclear weapon, which Iran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes.
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On March 7, Trump said he had written to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to call for nuclear talks and warn of possible military action if Tehran refused.
On Friday Khamenei said Washington’s threats “will get them nowhere”, warning of reciprocal measures “if they do anything malign” against Tehran.
Araghchi on Thursday said Trump’s letter was “more of a threat”, but added that it could also open up some opportunities and that Iran would respond soon.
Read More: Iran Denies Receiving Trump’s Letter, Rejects Nuclear Talks
US Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff, in an interview published Friday, said Trump wanted to avoid military conflict by building trust with Tehran.
He insisted the letter was not meant as a threat.
Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic relations after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Since then, the Swiss embassy in Tehran has facilitated communications between the two countries.
