The Iranian authorities have rejected direct talks with the United States on Iran’s nuclear program in their reply letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and reiterated their readiness to continue dialogue through mediators, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said.
"Although direct negotiations between the two sides were rejected in the reply, it was pointed out that the way of indirect talks remains open," Pezeshkian said.
Iran stressed in its reply letter that the Islamic Republic never avoided direct talks and only unfulfilled pledges triggered problems on that issue that must be resolved to restore trust between the two countries while the fate of the negotiations "will be determined by the behavior of the Americans."
"Iran has never shied away from negotiations and only the violation of commitments has caused problems on this path, which should certainly be compensated, and trust [in the U.S.] should be restored. It is such behavior of the US that will determine the future path of negotiations," Pezeshkian said.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran had sent through Oman an official response to Trump’s letter addressed to Iran’s supreme spiritual leader Ali Khamenei. The response contained two documents. The first document outlined Tehran’s views on the current world situation and the second paper fully commented on propositions laid out in Trump’s letter.
On March 7, Trump said he had sent a message to Khamenei proposing negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program. In response, the Iranian leader dismissed the offer, stating that Iran would not engage in dialogue with the U.S., as Washington is solely driven by its own interests.
