Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani met Swiss Deputy Foreign Minister Gabriel Luchsinger in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss ways of breaking the deadlock in nuclear talks with Western powers, Iranian media said, as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned that Tehran and Washington were still far from holding effective negotiations.
Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said the talks touched on “key regional issues and possible solutions to nuclear matters.” It added that Switzerland, which represents US interests in Iran, would brief Tehran on the outcome of its discussions with other parties, without giving details.
This was Larijani’s first meeting with a Western official on the nuclear file since his appointment as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi also attended.
Switzerland has hosted three rounds of talks between Iran and European powers, the last on June 20, two days before US forces struck Iranian nuclear facilities in joint raids with Israel.
Iran suspended negotiations with Washington, which had aimed to curb its nuclear ambitions, following the attacks. Since then, inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog have been denied access to sites, despite IAEA chief Rafael Grossi insisting inspections remain vital.
“In my view, we have not yet reached the maturity required for effective negotiations between Iran and the United States,” Araghchi was quoted by state media as saying on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned they would not hesitate to strike Iran again if it resumed uranium enrichment, a potential path to nuclear weapons.
Iran denies seeking nuclear arms and has vowed a strong response to threats. European powers have warned they could trigger the UN “snapback” mechanism to reimpose sanctions unless Tehran returns to the table.
Araghchi said a meeting with European officials could take place in the coming days, though he stressed no “basis for negotiations” had yet been reached.
