Doha: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran currently has no plans to meet with US officials, while consultations with mediators continue over Iran’s conditions for resolving the crisis, Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported Saturday.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi dismissed reports of possible meetings as media speculation, saying Iran saw no need to meet with American officials at present.
He said Tehran would decide whether to hold direct or indirect negotiations after Washington accepted Iran’s conditions, Xinhua news agency reported. Araghchi said an Iranian delegation had traveled to Qatar for further discussions, adding that his aide was there to continue consultations with mediators. According to Araghchi, Iran’s conditions include recognition of a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran had worked out with Oman, and the closure of other routes.
He said Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions imposed after the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a reduction in US military forces in the region, the restoration of sanctions waivers for Iranian oil exports, and the release of all frozen Iranian funds, including those held in Qatar. Iran also demanded an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, he said.
Araghchi said mediators had presented proposals concerning Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran was reviewing as part of what he described as a second phase.
The Iranian Foreign Minister also said a letter from US Vice President J D Vance had been reviewed at high-level meetings, describing the American effort to open the door to broader dialogue and understanding as a “positive step.”
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts.
Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, ending on August 17, to reach a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and the removal of sanctions. However, they failed to make sufficient progress toward a deal.
–IANS–
