Tehran (TDI): Iran has said that any possibility of renewed diplomatic engagement with Washington hinges on the United States giving clear assurances that it will not carry out further military strikes.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi said the US had expressed interest in returning to negotiations, but Iran had yet to agree on any timeline or framework. Talks stalled following the US participation in bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21, alongside Israeli strikes.
“We have not committed to any date. We are still waiting for clarity on whether this cycle of aggression is going to repeat itself while discussions are ongoing,” Takht Ravanchi told the broadcaster.
He stressed that Tehran expects a clear stance from Washington before it can move forward. “This is a fundamental question, and the US must be clear about it,” he said.
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Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, denied any outreach toward Iran, saying: “I am not offering Iran anything, unlike Obama,” and reiterated that the US had “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The recent escalation followed a broader conflict triggered earlier this month when Israeli forces targeted key Iranian military and nuclear installations. The US joined in by striking sites at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.
According to Iran’s state media, the 12-day conflict with Israel left at least 935 people dead, including 132 women and 38 children. The figures were released by judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir and reported by IRNA on Monday, nearly a week after a ceasefire went into effect.
During his interview, Takht-Ravanchi also revealed that the United States had communicated it was “not seeking regime change” and had deliberately avoided targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the recent military campaign.
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He also reiterated Iran’s stance on uranium enrichment, saying it remained Tehran’s right under international law. “The scale and scope of enrichment can be negotiated,” he said, “but to demand zero enrichment and threaten bombing if we disagree, that’s not diplomacy. That’s the law of the jungle.”
While Israel maintains that Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon, Iran insists its nuclear program is intended solely for civilian purposes.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
