The way is open for "indirect negotiations", according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He says, however, that direct dialogue with the USA is not currently possible "until there is a change in the other side's attitude towards the Islamic Republic (Iran)".
The USA's Donald Trump wants to negotiate a new nuclear energy agreement, after previously withdrawing from the one that the USA and others entered into with Iran in 2015 after lengthy negotiations.
Last week, the President sent a letter to the leadership in Tehran through an Emirati intermediary. In addition to this, Trump went out and warned that the situation with Iran has reached a critical point where military action may become necessary if no new agreement is reached.
No talks will be held with the USA under such pressure, was the counteroffer from Iran's highest leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since Trump left the nuclear energy agreement in 2018, Iran has gradually stepped up its enrichment of uranium – which the agreement aimed to prevent – so that the country is now estimated to be only a few steps away from being able to produce nuclear weapons.
