FM denies Israeli strike plan, says diplomacy viable if it halts Iran’s nukes

An Iranian lawmaker defended ongoing indirect talks with the United States but dismissed the prospect of face-to-face engagement, calling Washington unworthy of direct dialogue.

“We won’t close the path of negotiations to protect our interests, but the US is not worthy of direct talks,” Ahmad Rastineh, spokesman for parliament’s cultural committee, told local media on Sunday.

He rejected that Iran was forced into talks as part of a “false narrative.” Despite long-standing vows not to negotiate under sanctions, Iranian officials ultimately engaged in dialogue with the Trump administration during a period of heightened economic and diplomatic pressure.

The Carnegie Endowment’s decision to name Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as the keynote speaker at its upcoming Nuclear Policy Conference on Monday has stirred controversy in Washington, DC.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush criticized the move, saying that American think tanks should not “normalize officials from a regime which has plotted to kill President Trump and other Americans.”

Mark Wallace, the CEO of the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, also condemned the Carnegie Endowment, saying, "It's a disgrace for him to be hosted, even virtually, to provide a platform for him to engage in a malign influence operation in Washington."

"Carnegie should rescind the invitation."

At a point during the negotiations in Rome, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke face to face, a US official confirmed to reporters, according to the Associated Press.

The two chief negotiators had previously encountered each other following the first round of talks in Muscat in the presence of the Omani foreign minister.

At the time, Iranian officials said the face-to-face interaction in Oman was very brief, describing it as merely an exchange of greetings. However, Axios reported that the two sides spoke for 45 minutes.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly emphasized in recent weeks that the talks must remain indirect, rejecting the possibility of direct negotiations with the United States.

The United States and Iran "made very good progress in their direct and indirect discussions and agreed to meet again next week," Reuters reported citing a Trump administration official regarding the second round of Iran-US talks in Rome.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remains firmly committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, warning that without Israel’s past actions, Tehran would already be nuclear-armed.

“I am committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. I am not giving up on that, I am not letting go of it, and I am not backing away from it. Not even by a millimeter,” Netanyahu said in a public address Saturday.

He defended his record on Iran’s nuclear program, saying critics of his approach had opposed operations that delayed Iran’s progress. “Without those actions, Iran would already have had a nuclear weapon ten years ago,” he said.