Iran says it has 'no date' for talks with US

Iran said Monday that it does not rule out meeting with the United States for talks on its nuclear program, which were interrupted in June by an attack from Israel, but asserted that "no date" has been set.

Israel, a sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Western countries led by the United States, have long suspected Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran, which vehemently denies such military ambitions, says it is developing nuclear technology for civilian needs, in particular for energy.

Iran and the United States have held five rounds of nuclear talks since April via the Omani mediator, before Israel launched an attack on Iran on June 13, which sparked a 12-day war. Tehran and Washington were supposed to meet on June 15, but talks were canceled due to the war.

On Monday, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said that his country is "in favor of diplomacy and constructive engagement" in a message posted on the presidential website. "We continue to believe that the window for diplomacy remains open, and we will pursue this peaceful path seriously," he added.

Iran said Monday it does not rule out resuming talks with the United States. "For the moment, no specific date, time, or place has been set for a meeting," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaïl Baghaï.

He was questioned by journalists about a meeting between Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, and Steve Witkoff, his American counterpart for nuclear talks. "We have been serious in the negotiation process, we entered in good faith but, as everyone has seen, the Zionist regime [Israel], in coordination with the United States, carried out a military attack on Iran, before a sixth round" of talks, Baghaï emphasized.

Nuclear ambiguity

"The United States committed a blatant violation of international law during a diplomatic process," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman added.

The United States bombed the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site south of Tehran and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz (central Iran) on June 22. The exact extent of the damage is not known. During the war, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites and killed scientists linked to Iran's nuclear program. Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes on Israel.

On Monday, President Pezeshkian reaffirmed that the Iranian armed forces "are at the highest level of their defensive capabilities." "If the enemies contemplate a new aggression against Iranian territory, they will face even more crushing responses," he warned.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country to enrich uranium to a high level (60 percent), well beyond the 3.67 percent limit set by the international agreement concluded in 2015 with major powers, which the United States exited in 2018 during Donald Trump's first term.

To build a bomb, enrichment must be pushed to 90 percent, according to the IAEA. Israel, which maintains ambiguity about its own nuclear weapons possession, holds 90 nuclear warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Sanctions threats

The 2015 nuclear accord was concluded between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia) plus Germany. The text granted Iran a gradual lifting of international sanctions in exchange for strict oversight of its nuclear activities.

One clause also provides the possibility of re-imposing UN sanctions if Iran breaches its obligations. France, the United Kingdom, and Germany now threaten to use this mechanism. This mechanism "has no legal, political, or moral value," said Baghaï, blaming Europeans for failing to honor "their commitments."

After Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 agreement and the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, European countries had affirmed their commitment to the text, saying they wanted to continue trade with Iran. But the mechanism initially planned by Europeans to offset the return of American sanctions struggled to materialize, and companies were forced to leave Iran, which faces soaring inflation and an economic crisis.