Iran says it has no plans for new talks with the US, contradicting Trump

Iran has no plans to enter a new round of negotiations with the United States, the country’s official news agency reported on Monday, directly contradicting Donald Trump’s weekend claim that he expected talks to resume soon. The Hindu

“Iran’s delegation in New York [for the UN General Assembly] has no plans for negotiations with the United States,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said, citing an unnamed source close to the group. A source told IRNA that Tehran’s positions were conveyed “clearly and explicitly” to the American side through the Qatari mediator last Tuesday, and that Iran is awaiting Washington’s response, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi set to return home after completing his scheduled programmes. Times of Israel

Mr Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expected talks to resume soon, a day after he rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. “They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” he said, adding: “They overplayed their hand.” Nukta

Washington’s ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, also dismissed Tehran’s terms on Sunday, calling them “a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable” in an NBC interview. He said Iran was demanding an end to the blockade and sanctions and access to billions of dollars in frozen assets.

Mr Araghchi said on Sunday, according to state broadcaster IRIB, that Tehran had sent Washington a concrete seven-day plan for reopening the strait through Qatar. “We have never closed the door to diplomacy or negotiations, but at the same time, we have never backed down from our rights,” he said.