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Iran has said that it will not oppose negotiations with the US, provided the talks are held without preconditions and respect Tehran's red lines, including its right to enrich uranium, according to a senior advisor to Iranian leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
"We have no objection to negotiations that are held without preconditions and that respect the Islamic Republic's red lines," Ali Velayati, an adviser to Iranian Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the state media IRNA said on Monday. "They say Iran must abandon uranium enrichment, but this is one of our red lines. If talks are conditional on halting enrichment, they simply won't happen," Velayati said. The United States and Iran had held several rounds of negotiations prior to the Israeli strikes that sparked off a 12-day-war with Iran. Both US and Iran have signalled a willingness to continue their talks aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme. Omani and Qatari officials have been involved in the mediations between Tehran and Washington. IRNA report cited Khamenei advisor Velayati condemned Israel's aggression against Iran and its crimes in Gaza, accusing the United States of backing such moves and called for unity and coordination among Islamic countries in response. Velayati's remarks followed the statement by Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei that a date has not been set for any meeting with the United States. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday stressed Iran's commitment to diplomacy and opposition to war, while utilizing political and diplomatic resources to safeguard its rights. "We advocate for diplomacy and constructive engagement while opposing war. To keep the shadow of war away from our country and to defend the natural rights of the Iranian nation, we will utilize all available political and diplomatic resources," Pezeshkian said in his address to Iranians living abroad, the state news agency reported. Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' on June 13 bombing Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets, and the US retaliated with attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan on June 22. The Iranian Armed Forces launched retaliatory strikes, targeting key positions across the Israeli-occupied territories and on the US military airbase in Qatar. The 12-day war came to an end on June 24 when Israel declared a unilateral halt to its aggression, announced on its behalf by US President Donald Trump. Washington maintains that Iran's uranium enrichment programme could lead to developing nuclear bombs, while Tehran has consistently denied the claim, insisting that its nuclear programme is meant for civilian purposes. In July 2015, the Iran nuclear agreement- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and several world powers, including the United States, which capped Tehran's enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms. The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord. Since then, Iran has started exceeding agreed-upon limits to its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 2019, and began enriching uranium to higher concentrations up to 60 per cent purity, which is very close to the weapons-grade level. Earlier this month, Iranian President Pezeshkian signed into law a bill suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). State broadcaster of Iran reported that Pezeshkian ratified the bill after Parliament approving the legislation. (ANI)
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