'Nuclear dialogue with US is meaningless': Iranian FM spokesperson

Express Tribune

a day ago

Iran's and U.S.' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. Photo:REUTERS
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Iran has declared that continued dialogue with the United States over its nuclear programme is 'meaningless' following Israel's most extensive military assault on Iranian soil, accusing Washington of complicity in the strikes that killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
'The other side acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. 'You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time permit the Zionist regime to attack Iranian territory.'
Spokesperson of Iran's foreign ministry said on Friday the dialogue with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear programme is "meaningless" following Israel's attacks on governments positions and killing top IRGC commanders pic.twitter.com/NdFee6FXkQ — Soran Khateri (@sorankhateri) June 14, 2025
He said Israel "succeeded in influencing" the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington's permission.
Iran earlier accused US of being complicit in Israel's attacks.
The comments come a day after Israel launched a series of strikes across Iran, hitting military and nuclear sites and killing several senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, including Generals Mohammad Baqeri and Hossein Salami, as well as prominent nuclear scientists.
Iran responded with a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Israeli cities and military installations. Israeli authorities reported at least 34 injuries, while Tehran said 78 were killed and over 320 wounded in the initial Israeli offensive.
However, Washington claims to deny such allegations despite stating that they were aware about the attacks.
Instead, US told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be "wise" to negotiate over its nuclear programme.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment programme is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
Read: Pakistan condemns Israeli strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump meanwhile urged Iran Friday to make a deal or face "even more brutal" attacks by Israel, as Washington said it was helping its key ally defend itself against Iranian retaliation.
But Trump also kept the door open for negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program, as the president who boasted he had "no wars" in his first term tries to avoid getting dragged into one in his second.
As tensions escalated, Trump spoke with several world leaders, including Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer, who urged restraint. Pakistan, meanwhile, strongly condemned the Israeli assault on Iran and called for de-escalation.
Iran rains counter-attack missiles on Israel
Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel in a counter-strike on June 13 after an unprecedented onslaught hammered the country's top military brass and targeted its nuclear facilities and bases, killing top generals and nuclear scientists.
Iranian officials confirmed the death of 78 people, including top military generals and senior scientists and injuries to more than 320 others in strikes which began early in the morning, and continued throughout the day.
Media reports said 34 people were wounded in Israel in the Iranian missiles salvo.
Air raids sirens and explosions rang out across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the airways to issue a word of caution, saying he expected "several waves of Iranian attacks" in response to his country's strikes.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it attacked dozens of targets in Israel. The salvo came hours after Israel said its wide-spread air raids had hit about 200 targets, including nuclear facilities and killed several top-ranking Iranian generals.
"Iran comes under attack," said Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. "Various locations in Iran, including in the capital, Tehran, have come under attack by the Israeli regime, and a number of top military commanders have been assassinated in targeted strikes," it said, terming the strikes a major escalation.
Iranians woke up to the sounds of large explosions in and near Tehran. In the first round of strikes, IRNA said the Israeli regime targeted residential buildings in Tehran in the wee hours of the day as people were asleep in their homes.
Images quickly emerged of the capital's skyline, showing plumes of smoke rising from several locations. At least one image showed the lifeless body of a child under the rubble in a Tehran neighbourhood in the immediate aftermath of the strikes.
IRNA said Major General Mohammad Baqeri, chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces and Major General Hossein Salami, chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) were assassinated in targeted strikes against Iran's top military brass in Tehran.
It further said that Commander of the Aerospace Force of the IRGC Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh and Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters Major General Gholamali Rashid were also among the dead. All of them were veterans of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.
Unconfirmed reports said Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and a former secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, had also been severely wounded in a targeted strike.
A number of top nuclear scientists were also targeted. Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi, president of the Islamic Azad University, and Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, were among the dead. Tehranchi and Abbasi were reportedly targeted at their homes in the capital.
Khamenei immediacy appointed new top military commanders. He appointed Major General Pakpour to head the IRGC, who promised to open gates of hell to the Israeli regime.
In reaction to the Israeli attack on Iranian soil, many world leaders urged peace and Pakistan "strongly condemned" the wave of Israeli strikes on Iran.