Tehran will not directly negotiate with the United States over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling talks with the US “a sheer dead end”, as diplomatic parleys are conducted on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The supreme leader’s comments on Iranian state television on Tuesday followed Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi’s meeting with diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom – known as the E3 – as well as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over the reimposition of sanctions, set to take place just days from now.
Resuming negotiations with the US is a key sticking point among negotiators. During his speech at the UNGA, US President Donald Trump promised that Iran would “never possess a nuclear weapon”, describing Tehran as the “world’s number one sponsor of terror”.
“The US has announced the result of the talks in advance,” Khamenei said in his recorded address. “The result is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment. This is not a negotiation. It is a diktat, an imposition.”
It comes days after the UN Security Council (UNSC) rejected a resolution to extend sanctions relief for Iran.
The E3 have accused Tehran of breaching its nuclear commitments, including by building up a uranium stockpile of more than 40 times the level permitted under a 2015 nuclear deal, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018, during his first term.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and the world powers, including the US, that lifted sanctions in exchange for a cap on Iranian nuclear ambitions.
But as part of his so-called “maximum pressure” policy, Trump had reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018. The subsequent administration of President Joe Biden continued with Trump’s policies on Iran, despite initially denouncing them.
European nations have said they would be willing to extend the deadline on sanctions if Iran resumes direct negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme, allows UN nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites and accounts for the more than 400kg (880 pounds) of its highly enriched uranium that the UN’s nuclear watchdog says it has.
Tuesday’s meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA does not appear to have made much progress, with Al Jazeera’s James Bays reporting that German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul said it “didn’t go particularly well”.
The European negotiating team needs to see “some real action” from Iran to avert sanctions, EU foreign policy chief Kallas said.
“Diplomacy has a chance. The deadlines are running, and let’s see. We need to see some real action also on the Iranian side,” she said.
Iran’s nuclear doctrine
Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons, but affirmed its right to peacefully pursue nuclear energy.
Khamenei’s speech on Tuesday reaffirmed Tehran’s nuclear doctrine: Iran does not want nuclear weapons, but it will not yield to international pressure, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assadi, reporting from Tehran, said.
Tensions escalated this in June, when Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran, with Israeli and US forces striking several nuclear facilities. The Israeli-US bombing came a day after the UN’s nuclear watchdog board ruled that Iran was not respecting international nuclear safeguards.
The UNSC voted last week not to permanently lift economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, delivering a major economic blow that Tehran claimed was “politically biased”.
That vote followed a 30-day process launched in late August by the E3 to reinstate sanctions unless Tehran met their demands.
Iran pushed back against the UNSC vote, saying the resumption of sanctions would “effectively suspend” the country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog.
On Monday, hardline lawmakers in Iran demanded that the country start building a nuclear bomb over concerns the resumption of sanctions could restart war with Israel.
If no diplomatic deal is found this week, the sanctions will automatically “snap back” on Saturday evening. That would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme, among other measures.
All hope may not be lost, however. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that a team of inspectors was on its way to Iran, just in case the countries reach a deal and avoid the resumption of sanctions.
“Everything is possible. Where there is a will, there is a way,” Grossi said. “We have our inspectors, and inspectors are on the way, and there is the possibility to start on this work, depending on the political will of Iran.”
