Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Wednesday that the time for "effective" nuclear talks with the United States has not yet arrived, though he indicated that Tehran would not completely sever cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog, according to Reuters.
Iran suspended negotiations with Washington, which were aimed at curbing its nuclear program, after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on its nuclear sites in June. Since then, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been unable to access Iran's nuclear installations.
"In my opinion, we have not yet reached the point of maturity where effective negotiations with the US can take place," Araghchi said in remarks carried by state media and quoted by Reuters.
The Iranian official also addressed the status of cooperation with the IAEA, which was put in question after Iran's parliament passed a law suspending it. The legislation stipulated that any future inspections would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council.
Araghchi confirmed that Tehran was not cutting off all cooperation with the IAEA. "The return of inspectors will be possible based on the parliament's law, that is, with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council... So, it is not that we say we absolutely cut cooperation with the agency," he said.
Following the US strikes on Iran in June, President Donald Trump suggested that the United States would engage in discussions with Iran.
"We have scheduled Iran talks, and they want to talk," Trump asserted. He further added, "They've requested a meeting and I'm going to go to a meeting, and if we can put something down on paper, that would be fine."
The spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry later refuted those claims and stated that Tehran has not requested any meeting with the United States.
More recently, Trump issued a forceful warning to Iran, emphasizing that any renewed pursuit of a nuclear weapon would be met with an immediate and decisive response.
"And they are, you know, they can say they're going to start all over again, but that's a very dangerous thing for them to do, because we'll be back as soon as they start, we'll be back. And I think they understand that, they're just words."