Iran rejects Trump call for direct nuclear talks

TEHRAN: Iran’s top diplomat has dismissed direct negotiations with the United States as pointless, his office said Sunday, after US President Donald Trump said he preferred face-to-face talks over its nuclear programme.

Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month calling for negotiations but warning of military action if diplomacy failed.

On Thursday, the US president said he favoured “direct talks”, arguing they were “faster” and offered a better understanding than going through intermediaries. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said direct talks made no sense with a country “that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials”.

“We remain committed to diplomacy and are ready to try the path of indirect negotiations,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his ministry.

“Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty.”