Diplomats: Iran Rejects Offer of Direct US Nuclear Talks

US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington. Reuters
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington. Reuters
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Diplomats: Iran Rejects Offer of Direct US Nuclear Talks

US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington. Reuters
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington. Reuters

Iran rejected a European Union offer to arrange direct nuclear talks with the US, senior diplomats told The Wall Street Journal.

Two senior Western diplomats said Iran has ruled out attending a meeting in Europe for now, saying it wanted a guarantee first that the US would lift some sanctions after the meeting.

Washington had said it would attend the talks, which the EU had hoped to host in the coming days, said the report. However, the Biden administration had refused to provide sanctions relief before face-to-face negotiations with Iran had taken place.

Diplomats told The Wall Street Journal that Iran’s rejection didn’t kill off all hopes of direct negotiations in coming months and that Tehran’s move might be an attempt to gain leverage in future talks.

The US patience with Iran on returning to discussions over the 2015 nuclear deal is “not unlimited,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.

“Our patience is not unlimited, but we do believe, and the president has been clear on this ... that the most effective way to ensure Iran could never acquire a nuclear weapon was through diplomacy,” Price said.



Trump Says Israeli Strike on Iran Could Happen

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
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Trump Says Israeli Strike on Iran Could Happen

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is still urging Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal, but that he is concerned a “massive conflict” could occur in the Middle East if it does not.

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about a potential Israeli attack. "Look, it’s very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump offered guarded optimism that a conflict could still be avoided, and said he's urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off from taking action for the time-being.

“As long as I think there is a (chance for an) agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think it would blow it," Trump stated.

Trump said he felt it was necessary for his administration on Wednesday to direct a voluntary evacuation of nonessential personnel and their families from some US diplomatic outposts in the Middle East.

“We have a lot of American people in this area. And I said, we got to tell them to get out because something could happen soon,” Trump said. "And I don’t want to be the one that didn’t give any warning, and missiles are flying into their buildings. It’s possible. So I had to do it."

Iran said it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, ratcheting up tensions with the UN on Thursday immediately after its atomic watchdog agency censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

“Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization said in a joint statement.

The censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency, its first in 20 years over Iranian non-compliance, could set in motion an effort to restore sanctions on Iran later this year.

Trump had previously warned that Israel or America could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

A sixth round of Iran-US talks is scheduled to begin Sunday in Oman.