Iran rejects potential US 'armed negotiations'
Shafaq News - Tehran
Any potential talks with the United States would be “armed negotiations,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, citing Tehran’s distrust and readiness to counter possible US “deception.”
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the international conference “International Law Under Assault: Aggression and Defense” in Tehran, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh explained that the United States has shown no genuine readiness for result-oriented talks, but instead seeks to “achieve its objectives through theatrical diplomacy.”
Clarifying his use of the term “armed negotiation,” Khatibzadeh noted that, given the US has deployed its full military arsenal and threat posture against other countries, any negotiation under such conditions cannot be impartial.
“It is not a neutral negotiation. What matters is careful attention to the intentions and actions of the counterpart,” he added, stressing that Iran’s approach would combine caution with preparedness.
His remarks follow the decision by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, collectively known as the European Troika (E3), to activate the snapback mechanism, restoring UN sanctions after the collapse of negotiations with Western powers. The renewed measures include an arms embargo and a range of economic restrictions.
Western countries and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon — a charge Tehran rejects, maintaining that its nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes.
In 2015, after years of talks, France, Britain, Germany, the United States, Russia, and China reached a deal with Tehran that curtailed its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States withdrew from the pact in 2018, reimposing its own sanctions. In response, Iran gradually rolled back key commitments, including limits on uranium enrichment, prompting the European trio to trigger the return of UN sanctions.
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