Khamenei rules out talks with US over Iran’s nuclear programme

Tehran will not directly negotiate with the United States over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling talks with the US “a sheer dead end”, as diplomatic parleys are conducted on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The supreme leader’s comments on Iranian state television on Tuesday followed Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi’s meeting with diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom – known as the E3 – as well as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over the reimposition of sanctions, set to take place just days from now.

Resuming negotiations with the US is a key sticking point among negotiators. During his speech at the UNGA, US President Donald Trump promised that Iran would “never possess a nuclear weapon”, describing Tehran as the “world’s number one sponsor of terror”.

“The US has announced the result of the talks in advance,” Khamenei said in his recorded address. “The result is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment. This is not a negotiation. It is a diktat, an imposition.”

It comes days after the UN Security Council (UNSC) rejected a resolution to extend sanctions relief for Iran.

The E3 have accused Tehran of breaching its nuclear commitments, including by building up a uranium stockpile of more than 40 times the level permitted under a 2015 nuclear deal, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018, during his first term.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and the world powers, including the US, that lifted sanctions in exchange for a cap on Iranian nuclear ambitions.

But as part of his so-called “maximum pressure” policy, Trump had reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018. The subsequent administration of President Joe Biden continued with Trump’s policies on Iran, despite initially denouncing them.

European nations have said they would be willing to extend the deadline on sanctions if Iran resumes direct negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme, allows UN nuclear inspectors access to its nuclear sites and accounts for the more than 400kg (880 pounds) of its highly enriched uranium that the UN’s nuclear watchdog says it has.