Tehran: Iran seeks to negotiate only if the United States stops being “dishonorable” and proves that it also wants to negotiate, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said here recently.
Commenting on the possibility of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States on the nuclear issue, Pezeshkian said Sunday night that Iran believes in negotiations, but not with one that is as “dishonorable” as the United States, which has placed Iran “under all-out pressure” and is threatening Iran every day, according to a statement published by Pezeshkian’s office on Monday.
“We will negotiate with the entire world and do not want to fight with anybody. However, we will not acquiesce to being dishonored and will not negotiate at any price,” he said. “They (the United States) should also prove they want to negotiate.”
Iran does not want to make “unpeaceful” uses of its nuclear capabilities, he noted.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said here Monday that Iran is ready for any event to unfold and is militarily capable enough to stand against any “aggression or attack.”
Answering a question about Iran’s scenarios facing a potential U.S. attack, Baghaei said Iran will definitely give a “decisive, immediate, and all-out response” if threats against Iran were carried out.
He also called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to fulfill its responsibilities regarding the constant threats uttered by the United States and Israel against Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear facilities.
The issue will be discussed during an upcoming visit by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran, he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in early March that he had sent a letter to Iranian leaders via the United Arab Emirates, proposing direct negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Pezeshkian later confirmed that in response to the letter, Tehran rejected the proposed face-to-face talks but was open to possible indirect talks.
Trump, in an interview with NBC News late last month, threatened to launch “unprecedented military strikes” on Iran if it refused to negotiate over its nuclear program.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States — in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.
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