Iran rules out talks with US, criticizes Europe

The hardline daily Kayhan in Tehran has criticized Iranian officials for presenting conflicting positions on talks with the West, particularly the United States, over the past four months since Masoud Pezeshkian assumed the presidency.

The Kayhan, which is linked with the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, noted that while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ruled out negotiations with the United States for the time being, former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine that Iran is open to negotiating with the West, particularly with the United States.

Meanwhile, Zarif, currently serving as Vice President for Strategic Affairs, revealed in an interview with the reformist daily Etemad that he is not part of President Pezeshkian's key decision-making team. He stated, "I have been excluded from all decision-making groups since the cabinet was formed, despite the expectation of many Iranians for me to play a role in shaping foreign policy."

The Kayhan charged that "While Araghchi's statements are based on Khamenei's policy, others in the government make statements diagonally opposing those policies." The daily said that conflicting statements on foreign policy particularly harm Iran's regional foreign policy and adversely affect negotiations with Europe.

Kayhan even criticized Pezeshkian for saying "We want to prove to Europeans that we do not want war and instability." The daily said that Iran does not need to prove its pacifist stances to the countries that insist Tehran has provided missiles to Russia despite Iran's denials.

Elaborating on Iran's stance regarding negotiations with Europe, Araghchi told Arab media that Iran has numerous reasons to distrust Europe’s positions on its nuclear program. He maintained, "At this time, we have no plans to initiate dialogue with Washington because there is no clear starting point for such talks. We are waiting to observe how the United States advances its foreign policy, after which we will define our approach to negotiations with America."

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, also known as Ravanchi, who led the Iranian delegation in last week’s discussions with the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, informed the Iranian Supreme Council of National Security that Tehran would continue exchanging views with Europe. However, he emphasized that these discussions should not be considered "negotiations."

Ravanchi further clarified that the talks adhered strictly to the red lines of the Islamic Republic and stressed that Iran approached the discussions with "no false optimism."

Ebrahim Rezaei the spokesperson for the SCNS told the press that Ravanchi and Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi reported to the SCNS and tried to address the concerns and questions of its members. He quoted Ravanchi as saying that the objective of the meetings in Geneva was to "protect the achievements of the Islamic Republic" which possibly meant the delegation attempted to justify the deviations from the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers including a boost in the extent and level of uranium enrichment in Iran after 2018.

According to Rezaei, Ravanchi informed European negotiators that Iran might potentially withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He did not elaborate on the European response but noted that no date has been set for the next round of talks.

Meanwhile, Gharibabadi accused the Europeans of failing to meet their obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), following the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement in 2018.

Rezaei also remarked that the atmosphere during the Supreme Council of National Security (SCNS) meeting with the two deputy foreign ministers was not positive. Members were critical of the discussions and expressed dissatisfaction with Europe’s recent sanctions and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest resolution against Iran.