A top Iranian official said a deal with the US is still possible, but Washington must drop its demands to limit Tehran’s missile program. Talks between the US and Iran broke off in June, when Israel launched an unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic.
On Tuesday, Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official, posted a statement from the country’s Supreme National Security Council on X. “The path for negotiations with the US is not closed; yet these are the Americans who only pay lip service to talks and do not come to the table; and they wrongfully blame Iran for it,” he wrote. “WE INDEED PURSUE RATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS. By raising unrealizable issues such as missile restrictions, they set a path which negates any talks.”
Since Donald Trump returned to office, the US and Iran engaged in five rounds of negotiations aimed at establishing a new nuclear agreement and lifting sanctions. A sixth round of talks was scheduled in June, but Israel’s attack on Iran halted the diplomatic process. Iranian officials said the dialogue was progressing towards a deal before the attack.
The US participated in the Israeli war on Iran. Tehran has demanded that Washington give assurances that the US and Israel will not resume strikes on Iran while the talks are ongoing. However, Trump has not responded to Tehran’s demand and has threatened to attack Iran if Tehran restarts its nuclear enrichment program.
Trump has pressed Iran to agree to a new nuclear pact after he scrapped the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his first administration. The 2015 Iran nuclear deal established a strict inspection regime and limitations on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
After Trump broke the agreement and reimposed sanctions, Tehran exceeded the limits on uranium enrichment set under the nuclear deal. In response to a series of Israeli assassinations and sabotage attacks, Tehran enriched uranium to a higher level and established a stockpile of 60% enriched uranium.
Tehran expelled international nuclear inspectors following Israel’s attack on Iran in June.
