Iran says “time is not right” to hold talks with US given its recent actions.
In a massive display of Chutzpa and gamesmanship, Iran on Sunday rejected an offer to negotiate directly with the United States, in an informal meeting proposed by Europe, to revive the 2015 nuclear.
A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said recent actions taken by Washington and Europeans had led Iran to conclude that the “time was not right” to hold such talks, according to The New York Times.
“There has been no change in America’s positions and actions,” Khatibzadeh said in a statement. “The Biden administration has not set aside Trump’s maximum pressure policy, nor has it announced its commitments” under the 2015 nuclear deal.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran. The Islamic Republic, in turn, has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.
President Joe Biden, who has expressed a desire to return to the deal, told the Munich Security Conference recently that his administration is “prepared to re-engage in negotiations” with the UN Security Council on Iran’s nuclear program.
The White House later said that the US has accepted Europe’s offer to mediate conversations with Iran regarding the 2015 nuclear deal.
A White House spokesman said Sunday that the United States was “disappointed” by Iran’s rejection of the talks but just meekly said that “we remain ready to re-engage in meaningful diplomacy,” Reuters reported.
(Arutz 7).