Iran remains committed to pursuing diplomatic engagement with the United States amid delays to talks, but expanding negotiations beyond the nuclear issue is unacceptable, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
“We have announced our commitment to continuing the path of dialogue and diplomacy. We have shown our full readiness by participating in several rounds of negotiations,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.
“The decision regarding the timing of the negotiations was made based on the proposal of the Omani side and with the coordination of both parties," he said, Oman a key mediator.
"The decision to postpone was logistical,” Baghaei said.
Talks between Iran and the US remain focused on nuclear-related issues and sanctions relief, the spokesman emphasized, pushing back against French calls to expand the negotiations to include non-nuclear matters.
“Such statements are not new, and they are not acceptable to us,” he said. “The scope of the talks is limited and confined to the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.”
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s recent comments that Iran does not need nuclear energy given its fossil fuel reserves, Baghaei said, “Our peaceful nuclear program is based on rights enshrined in international law and dates back to the 1970s, when Iran’s energy needs were even less than today.”
Addressing recent Israeli military threats, Baghaei warned that Iran would respond decisively to any aggression. “The Iranian armed forces will respond to any act of hostility or adventurism in the strongest possible manner. There should be no doubt about that,” he said.
Baghaei criticized what he called Washington’s mixed signals that include both sanctions and calls for dialogue but reaffirmed Tehran’s willingness to continue diplomacy.
“If the US is sincere in its claim that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons, many issues can be resolved,” he said. “We have already declared clearly, and shown in practice, that we are not seeking to weaponize our nuclear program.”
Baghaei maintained that Iran is not orchestrating military actions through proxies, particularly in Yemen. “Iran needs no proxies in the region,” he said. “Yemen’s decisions are sovereign and independent, and the accusations are baseless.”
The US, which has designated the group a terrorist organization, has repeated warnings to Tehran that a failure to curb the Houthis' military attacks on the US and Israel, in addition to the militant group's blockade on global shipping, will result in military consequences for Iran.
