Iran Parliament rules out resumption of U.S. talks until preconditions are met
"When the U.S. use negotiations as a tool to deceive Iran and cover up a sudden military attack by the Zionist regime [Israel], talks cannot be conducted as before. Preconditions must be set and no new negotiations can take place until they are fully met," the statement said.
The statement did not define the preconditions, but Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has previously said there should be guarantees there will be no further attacks against Tehran.
Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last month, saying that they were part of a programme geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes.
Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of indirect negotiations mediated by Oman prior to the 12-day air war, with U.S. demands that Tehran drop its domestic uranium enrichment programme reaching a dead end.
Last week, Mr. Araqchi reiterated Tehran's position that it would not agree to a nuclear deal that prevents it from enriching uranium and would refuse to discuss extra-nuclear topics such as its ballistic missile programme.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was in no rush to negotiate with Iran as its nuclear sites were now "obliterated", but the U.S., in coordination with three European countries, has agreed to set the end of August as the deadline for a deal. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that Paris, London and Berlin would trigger the United Nations sanctions snapback mechanism, which would reimpose international sanctions on Iran, by the end of August if there is no concrete progress regarding an agreement.
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The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on the Indian oil refinery of Russian energy giant Rosneft and lowered the oil price cap, as part of a new raft of measures against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The fresh sanctions package on Russia included new banking restrictions, and curbs on fuels made from Russian crude oil. The lowered oil price cap - currently set at USD 60 per barrel - means Russia will be forced to sell its crude at reduced rates to buyers like India. As the second-largest purchaser of Russian oil, India stands to benefit from this move. Russian crude currently accounts for nearly 40 per cent of India's total oil imports. "For the first time, we're designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X. Rosneft owns 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara Energy Ltd, formerly Essar Oil Ltd. 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Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned that nations buying Russian exports could face sanctions or steep tariffs if Moscow does not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days. Russia typically supplies crude oil to India on a delivered basis - handling both shipping and insurance for the cargo and vessels. Under the price cap mechanism, Russia kept the official invoice price of crude below USD 60 per barrel to comply with sanctions, but charged higher rates for transportation services. This practice has allowed it to effectively realize prices closer to market rates despite the cap. The oil price cap was widely viewed as ineffective, as much of Russia's crude was being transported via a 'shadow fleet'vessels operating outside the control of G7-based shipping services. 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Germany deports 81 Afghan convicts as Merz signals tough immigration stance
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