Tehran rejects nuclear talks under US conditions - Al Mayadeen

Iran has refused to enter nuclear negotiations with the United States under the conditions set by the current US administration, Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen reported Saturday.

Although the report was published a day after President Donald Trump announced he had sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it makes no mention of the message.

The outlet cited an unnamed high-ranking Iranian diplomatic source who said that during his visit to Tehran last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed Moscow’s willingness to facilitate nuclear negotiations with Washington through diplomatic channels.

Tehran told Lavrov that it would never engage in talks with Washington under the conditions imposed by the Trump administration.

President Trump revealed on Friday that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, offering negotiations while warning of military consequences if talks failed. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Trump said, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or through a deal. I would prefer to make a deal.”

Iran swiftly dismissed the letter, with an official outlet of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) calling it a psychological operation. Iran’s UN mission in New York also denied receiving any such communication.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met with Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali to discuss international efforts to resolve issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, later confirmed by the Kremlin, Russia has agreed to assist the US in communicating with Iran on various matters, including its nuclear program and support for regional anti-US proxies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations" and that Moscow "is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this." The report was subsequently picked up by Russian state media.

Last month, prior to Russia's official offer of mediation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, where both sides reportedly "aligned their positions" on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that unraveled following the US withdrawal in 2018.