TEHRAN (The Thursday Times) — Iran has no plans to hold talks with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, while confirming for the first time that Tehran had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance and calling Washington’s outreach “a positive step”.
“Currently, there are no plans for meetings with American officials, and any speculation to the contrary is merely media assumption,” Araghchi said in an interview. “Under current circumstances, Iran sees no necessity for a meeting with the Americans; Iran’s conditions are clear, and consultations regarding them are ongoing among mediators.”
He said the message from Vance had been “carefully reviewed and discussed in high-level meetings”. “If Washington’s objective in sending the message is to sow discord, this would be yet another misstep, adding to America’s previous errors,” he said. “But the American side’s effort to open a dialogue and reach a broader understanding is viewed as a positive step.”
Araghchi said one of his aides had travelled to Doha to continue consultations, a day after Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran. Mediators had presented proposals on the nuclear file, which Iran was reviewing “as part of the second phase”, he said, adding: “Qatari and Pakistani mediators are continuing consultations regarding our conditions.” Whether any talks with Washington were direct or indirect would depend on those conditions being met.
He said the talks had also shortened the timetable for Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “The Qatari side proposed shortening the implementation period of the Iranian proposal to five days. We have reached a proposal at this stage that reduces the implementation period to two days,” he said, adding that Iran was “prepared for all scenarios”.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran this week with Pakistan’s backing, in an effort to stop the war resuming after Tuesday’s US midterm elections. Iran has said it will not discuss its nuclear programme until the US naval blockade of its ports is lifted, sanctions are eased and it receives guarantees against further attacks, while Iranian lawmakers are pushing for withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday the war would be “wrapped up soon” but that Washington needed a guarantee that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon.
