Iran rejects US nuclear talks conditioned on enrichment halt

The talks have stalled since the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities

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A combination photo shows US President Donald Trump (left) and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Photo: AFP

Published: 11:35am, 15 Jul 2025

Iran said on Monday there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities.

Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, but Israel derailed the talks when it launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis, touching off 12 days of war.

Since the end of the hostilities, both Iran and the United States have signalled a willingness to return to the table, though Tehran has said it will not renounce its right to the peaceful use of nuclear power.

“If the negotiations must be conditioned on stopping enrichment, such negotiations will not take place,” Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

The remarks came after foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran had not set a date for any meeting with the United States.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei holds a weekly press conference in Tehran. Photo: AFP

“For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,” Baqaei said of plans for a meeting between Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.

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