Washington remains ready for “serious and direct dialogue” with Tehran, the US state department told Iran International on Sunday, hours after Iranian leaders declined invitations to attend a Gaza peace summit in Egypt chaired by President Donald Trump.
“We are ready to talk directly,” a state department spokesperson said. “The United States has kept the door open for serious and direct dialogue, even as Iran has consistently rejected negotiations.”
“Should the Iranians want to negotiate, the ball is in their court,” the spokesperson added, quoting President Trump. “They are the ones that stand to benefit from the negotiation.”
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian turned down Egypt’s invitation to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit scheduled for Monday, where more than twenty world leaders are expected to discuss a post-war framework for Gaza.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he too would skip the meeting, citing ongoing US sanctions and what he called “threats against the Iranian people.”
The summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, will bring together leaders or foreign ministers from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
'Betrayal'
Iran’s inclusion was met with conflicting reactions in Tehran.
Moderates urged the president to seize what they described as a rare diplomatic opening, while hardliners denounced any participation as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and a tacit recognition of Israel.
Responding to Iran International’s query after Tehran’s refusal, the US state department reaffirmed Washington’s readiness for “full cooperation” in exchange for Iran suspending its nuclear program.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” the spokesperson said. “Beyond that … it is not in our national interest to negotiate these issues publicly.”
Trump said last week that Iranian authorities had “been in contact” to express their support for the Gaza deal.
“Iran wants to work on peace now. They’ve informed us they are totally in favor of this deal,” the president told reporters on October 9. “We appreciate that, and we’ll work with Iran.”
