Amid Mounting Tensions, Iran Rejects Direct Negotiation With US, Calls It 'Meaningless'

Tehran: Amid mounting tensions and ongoing military threats, Iran, on April 6, dismissed the idea of engaging in direct negotiation with the US by labelling it ‘meaningless.’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that while Tehran is willing to seek diplomacy, it will only participate through indirect channels.

Araghchi remarked the same after US President Donald Trump pushed for in-person talks over Iran’s nuclear program, while simultaneously cautioning that failure to negotiate could lead to US airstrikes on Iran.

Direct Negotiations ‘Meaningless…’

“Direct negotiations would be meaningless with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials,” Araghchi said in a statement issued by Iran’s foreign ministry.

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Prepared For All Possible Events, Asserts Iran 

The Foreign Minister further noted that even though Iran remains committed to diplomatic efforts, it is 'prepared for all possible or probable events' and will vehemently protect its ‘national interests and sovereignty.’

Mirroring Araghchi’s remarks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his administration was open to dialogue with the US but only if was on equal footing. Questioning Washington’s sincerity, Pezeshkian asked, “If you’re serious about talks, why the threats?”

Coinciding with the latest mounting diplomatic tension with the increased military posturing, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami on April 5, asserted Iran’s preparedness for confrontation. He said, “We are not worried about war at all. We will not be the initiators of war, but we are ready for any war."

The conflict is linked to the ongoing dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which the US and Western accuse it of being a front for nuclear weapons development —a charge that Tehran firmly rejects. Tehran has maintained that its efforts are purely for civilian purposes.

On Monday, Ali Larijani, a key adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, cautioned that while Iran wasn't pursuing nuclear arms, an attack might force a policy shift. He warned by saying that Iran has no alternative but to do so.

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