Iran remains open to resuming nuclear negotiations if the United States guarantees it will not resort to military force, a senior Iranian diplomat said Thursday, weeks after a deadly 12-day conflict with Israel.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told NBC News that Tehran still supports diplomacy but emphasized the need for Washington to “convince us that they are not going to use military force while we are negotiating.”
“That is an essential element for our leadership to be in a position to decide about the future round of talks,” he said.
The remarks come amid a report by U.S. outlet Axios, which said White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to meet Iran’s foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, in Oslo next week. Neither side has officially confirmed the meeting or its date.
Iran and the U.S. had held five rounds of nuclear talks since April 12, but talks stalled following Israel’s bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear sites on June 13. The strikes killed several senior Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists.
On June 22, the U.S. launched unprecedented airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz. According to Iranian judiciary sources, more than 900 people were killed in the conflict. In response, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks that killed 28 people in Israel, authorities there said.
A ceasefire was reached on June 24.
Iran continues to insist on its right to enrich uranium, a major point of contention with the United States.
“Our policy has not changed on enrichment,” Takht-Ravanchi said. “Iran has every right to do enrichment within its territory. The only thing that we have to observe is not to go for militarization.”
