Iran would consider negotiations with the U.S. if the aim of the talks was to address concerns regarding any potential militarization of its nuclear program, Iran's U.N. mission said on Sunday in a post on X.
A man holds a flag during a protest by supporters of Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), against the nuclear program and the detention of EU nationals as tensions escalate between France and Iran, in Paris, France, February 8, 2025. ReutersGonzalo Fuentes
Iran would consider negotiations with the U.S. if the aim of the talks was to address concerns regarding any potential militarization of its nuclear program, Iran's U.N. mission said on Sunday in a post on X.
The comment came a day after the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will not negotiate under U.S. "bullying".
In the post on X the mission said: "If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration."
"However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program ... such negotiations will never take place," the post added.
Khamenei was quoted by state media as saying on Saturday: "They are bringing up new demands that certainly will not be accepted by Iran, like our defence capabilities, missile range and international influence."
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network, broadcast on Friday, that he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and had sent a letter to its leadership suggesting talks with the Islamic Republic, which the West fears is rapidly nearing the capability to make atomic weapons.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
While expressing openness to a deal with Tehran, Trump has reinstated a "maximum pressure" campaign that was applied during his first term as president to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero.
During his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark deal between Iran and major powers that had placed strict limits on Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has said that time is running out for diplomacy to impose new restrictions on Iran's activities, as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade.
Tehran says its nuclear work is solely for peaceful purposes.
Iran and the United States will hold a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran's atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump's threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
In a defiant speech on Friday evening, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, insisted that the group “will not allow anyone to disarm it,” rejecting growing internal calls for the Lebanese state to reclaim exclusive control over the country’s weapons.
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