The United States is open to direct talks with Iran but the next move must come from Tehran, the State Department said on Tuesday, as the Islamic Republic and European powers gird for high-stakes nuclear talks in Istanbul later this week.
“As the president has said, the Iranian people stand to benefit from negotiating in good faith. The ball is in their court,” said Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the US State Department. “The Iranian leadership has a window of opportunity to choose a path of peace and prosperity for their people.”
Bruce told reporters Tuesday that Washington is “also ready to talk directly to the Iranians,” while coordinating closely with its E3 partners—Britain, France and Germany.
Bruce's remarks come ahead of Friday’s meeting in Istanbul, where the E3 will meet directly with Iranian diplomats at the deputy foreign minister level to discuss Iran’s nuclear program and potential sanctions measures.
“The topic of the talks is clear, lifting sanctions and issues related to the peaceful nuclear program of Iran,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in his weekly briefing.
Speaking on Fox News ahead of the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will not abandon its nuclear program—including uranium enrichment—despite “severe” damage from recent US strikes.
“Our enrichment is so dear to us,” he said. “Obviously we cannot give up our enrichment, because it is an achievement of our own scientists and now more than that, it is a question of national pride," Araghchi told Fox News.
