Direct talks between Iran and the US to resolve the crisis over the republic’s nuclear programme are impossible, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters.
“No, it’s out of the question,” the diplomat replied to a question from journalists on Monday.
On Sunday, Iranian Army Commander Lieutenant General Amir Hatami said that the threat of an Israeli attack on Iran remains.
“Even a 1% probability of an attack must be treated as a 100% threat. We must not underestimate the enemy and think that all threats are in the past,” the Iranian military official said. He also stressed that the Iranian army remains on high alert and will be deployed if new threats arise.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations on the nuclear programme with the E3 – Britain, Germany and France – had lost their meaning. According to the foreign minister, these countries can neither lift sanctions against Tehran nor do anything else.
Since April, the US and Iran have held five rounds of talks on a possible deal under which Iran would limit its nuclear programme.
US President Donald Trump said that the US seeks the “complete elimination” of Iran’s nuclear programme, but he is willing to consider the idea of Tehran using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In March, he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei giving him two months to reach a new nuclear deal. When the deadline passed, Israel attacked Iran on the night of June 13.
