
Iran rejects US nuclear talks conditioned on enrichment halt
Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, but
Israel derailed the talks when it launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, touching off
12 days of war
Since the end of the hostilities, both Iran and the United States have signalled a willingness to return to the table, though Tehran has said it will not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power.
'If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place,' Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
The remarks came after foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran had not set a date for any meeting with the United States.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran. Photo: AFP
'For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,' Baqaei said of plans for a meeting between Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Philippines' Marcos to meet Trump in high-stakes trade talks as US tariff looms
'I intend to convey to President Trump and his cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial, and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of,' Marcos Jnr said before departing for Washington on Sunday. He added that his 'top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States'. Marcos is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House following discussions with Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday. The agenda was hinted at on July 10, when US Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said potential deals included private sector investment in the Luzon Economic Corridor, an agreement on 'the Philippines' wealth in critical minerals' and 'trilateral cooperation in the Philippines on cybersecurity, energy [including nuclear energy] and investments in reliable and secure telecommunications networks'. The Philippines could end up granting the US more access to military facilities under their Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), as well as offering favourable terms on mining concessions, potentially including rare earth minerals, analysts told This Week in Asia.


RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
Tehran will not stop nuclear enrichment, says Iran FM
Tehran will not stop nuclear enrichment, says Iran FM Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke to Fox News' Bret Baier. Photo: Reuters Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment, despite "severe" damage to its facilities after US strikes last month, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday. For now, enrichment "is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe," Araghchi told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier." "But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists," he continued, calling it a source of "national pride." He stressed that any future nuclear deal would have to contain the right to enrichment. When asked whether any enriched uranium had been saved from the strikes, Araghchi said he had "no detailed information," but that Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation is "trying to evaluate what has exactly happened to our nuclear material, to our enriched material." Washington bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22 to support Israel's 12-day military offensive, including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment site located south of Tehran. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called the strikes a success, reaffirming on Saturday that all three sites were "completely destroyed." Araghchi's remarks come as Tehran is set to hold new talks on its nuclear program with Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Friday in Istanbul. Regarding negotiations with the United States to de-escalate regional tension, Araghchi said "we are open to talks" but "not direct for the time being." "We are ready to do any confidence-building measure needed to prove that Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful" in exchange for lifted US sanctions, he added. The foreign minister also confirmed that Iran would continue to develop and manufacture missiles. (AFP)


South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Iran confirms nuclear talks with European powers, first since US strikes
Iran confirmed fresh talks with European powers to be held on Friday in Istanbul, the country's state media reported, the first since the United States attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. Advertisement Iranian diplomats will meet counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, after the trio warned that sanctions could be reimposed on Tehran if it does not return to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme. Western nations and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied. 'In response to the request of European countries, Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks,' said foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai, as quoted by state TV on Monday. Satellite images over Fordow, before and after the US struck the underground nuclear facility. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via Reuters The subject of the talks will be Iran's nuclear programme, it added.