Iran said Friday it would refuse to hold nuclear talks with the US while it was still under attack from Israel after President Trump essentially gave a two-week deadline to allow for renewed negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi vowed there was no room for negotiations with the United States “until Israeli aggression stops.”
“Americans want to negotiate and have sent messages several times, but we clearly said that as long as this aggression doesn’t stop, there’s no place for talk of dialogue,” he said in an address on state television.
He accused the US, too, of being a “partner to Israeli crime against Iran.”
In his statement, Araqchi added that any Iranian attacks were “legitimate defence”, claiming that they did not target medical facilities, despite hitting an Israeli hospital in Beersheba yesterday, wounding 80 people.
Israel launched a series of major airstrikes overnight targeting an Iranian nuclear testing facility and missile production sites in response to the attack.
The attack killed two Iranian nuclear scientists, the IDF has claimed.
The latest attacks come after President Trump said Thursday he’d make a final decision on whether to strike Iran in the “next two weeks” as he held out hope that negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program could continue.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister was due to meet his European counterparts in Geneva later on Friday to discuss, in part, the nuclear program.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been in charge of negotiations with Iran, is not slated to attend the talks.
