President Donald Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he’s not feeling pressured to initiate talks with Iran, even as the regime signals its interest in renewed discussions with Washington.
“They would like to talk. I’m in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site,” Trump said in Washington, referencing U.S. airstrikes that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities last month.
Trump’s remarks followed a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry the previous day, which clarified that no meeting with the U.S. has been scheduled concerning its nuclear program.
Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, stated that “no specific date, time, or location” had been arranged for a potential encounter between American and Iranian representatives.
Baqaei also accused Israel and the United States of collaborating in what he termed “military aggression against Iran.” He claimed that Iran has acted “serious in diplomacy and the negotiation process” and had “entered with good faith.”
The possibility of talks between the two countries had been facilitated through Oman, but those efforts stalled following Israel’s June 13 strike on Iranian nuclear sites, which caught Iran by surprise.
Just a week earlier, Trump had appeared alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and suggested that diplomacy with Tehran might be on the horizon.
“We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to talk,” Trump said. “They’ve requested a meeting and I’m going to go to a meeting, and if we can put something down on paper, that would be fine.”
Baqaei quickly disputed that account, firmly denying that Iran had reached out to request a sit-down with the American government.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also played down any immediate prospects for diplomacy, suggesting that there were still significant concerns to be resolved before any meeting could take place.
“In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations. And I think with all these considerations, we still need more time,” Araghchi said. Still, he emphasized, “The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.”
{Matzav.com}
