Iran’s Parliament on Wednesday declared that the country should not resume nuclear negotiations with the United States unless firm preconditions were met. The declaration was made during an open parliamentary session amid heightened tensions following the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.
“When the U.S. uses negotiations as a tool to deceive Iran and cover up a sudden military attack by the Zionist regime [Israel], talks cannot be conducted as before. Preconditions must be set, and no new negotiations can take place until they are fully met”, Iranian lawmakers stated.
The declaration did not specify the preconditions but the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has previously demanded guarantees that no further attacks against Tehran would occur.
The statement follows last month’s joint strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities which claimed that the facilities were part of a nuclear weapons programme – an allegation Tehran strongly denies, maintaining its programme is strictly for civilian use.
Prior to the 12-day air offensive, Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect talks mediated by Oman. However, the negotiations reached a dead end, after the U.S. demanded that Iran end domestic uranium enrichment—a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected.
Last week, Araqchi reaffirmed that Tehran would not accept any deal that restricts its right to enrich uranium. He also ruled out any discussions on non-nuclear issues, such as Iran's ballistic missile programme.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was in "no rush" to resume negotiations, claiming Iran's nuclear sites had been "obliterated." However, the U.S., along with France, the UK, and Germany, has set an end-of-August deadline for reaching a new deal.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned that if there was no meaningful progress by then, the three European powers would invoke the United Nations’ sanctions snapback mechanism, which would reinstate international sanctions on Iran.
