Iran on Monday said it doubts the US was serious about conducting negotiations, asserting that it will defend its nuclear program and will not allow any compromise on the matter.
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the US statements cannot be taken seriously. “You cannot threaten Iran on one hand and claim to support dialogue on the other hand,” he said, according to the Mehr news agency.
US President Donald Trump has expressed an openness to a deal with Tehran to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but he said Israel will likely attempt to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said last week that if Iran’s enemies strike a hundred nuclear facilities, his country will build a thousand other ones.
US intelligence agencies have recently concluded that Israel is considering “significant strikes” on Iran's nuclear facilities in the first six months of 2025, taking advantage of Iran’s weakened state.
Analysts say Tehran will be forced to negotiate with Trump, with the downfall of its key ally, the Assad regime in Syria, and the severe weakening of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem and said their countries were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East.
Asked whether the Trump administration supports an Israeli strike on Iran, Rubio told CBS News: “Israel will always have to act in what they believe is their national interest and their national defense.”
And whether Washington was reaching out to Tehran, he replied: “I will say that we don't have any outreach from Iran. We haven't seen any. There's been zero outreach or interest to date from Iran about any negotiated deal.”
Earlier, US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said Trump is absolutely serious about preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, adding that “all options are on the table.”
Waltz told Fox News on Sunday that Trump is willing to engage in talks with Tehran only on condition that it fully abandon its nuclear program.
Responding to Waltz’ comments, Baghaei said: “Iran's peaceful nuclear program is ongoing, and has been for the last three decades, based on Iran's rights as a member in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons... definitely we will not show any weakness in this regard.”
“Threatening others is a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter,” he added, saying that Israel and the US “cannot do anything” to hurt Iran.
