TEHRAN — Iran sees no prospect for resuming negotiations with the United States under the current circumstances, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Wednesday, underscoring the deep chill that continues to define relations between the two longtime adversaries, according to Tasnim News Agency.
Speaking on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Araqchi said that “at this stage, there is no possibility of talks with Washington.” He added that dialogue could only resume if the United States demonstrates genuine readiness to engage on “an equal and respectful basis.”
“The conditions for meaningful talks do not exist at present,” Araqchi told reporters, stressing that Iran would not enter any negotiation under pressure or unequal terms.
His remarks came days after a statement by Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, who laid out strict preconditions for any future engagement with Washington. On November 3, Khamenei declared that the U.S. must end all support for Israel, withdraw its military forces from the Middle East, and stop interfering in regional affairs before Tehran would even consider cooperation “not in the near future, but perhaps in later times.”
The comments reflect Iran’s hardened position amid escalating regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and Washington’s continued backing of Israel. They also suggest that any revival of indirect diplomacy including over Iran’s nuclear program remains remote.
Araqchi, who previously served as Tehran’s chief negotiator during the 2015 nuclear talks, has taken a cautious approach since assuming the foreign ministry post, aligning closely with Khamenei’s insistence that U.S. policy must fundamentally change before diplomacy can resume.
