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Iran: No point in holding talks with US

May 23, 2019 at 3:51 am

There is no point in holding negotiations with the United States (US) under the current situation, head of Iranian presidential office and chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, said yesterday.

“We’ve seen various countries trying to mediate between Tehran and Washington to help preserve the world powers nuclear deal, and at the same time prevent conflicts in the region,” Vaezi told reporters, explaining that there was “no sense” in holding negotiations as long as the US officials continued with their pressure policy and violation of their commitments.

Vaezi denied recent reports on Omani mediation between Iran and the US, referring to a recent visit by the Omani foreign minister Yusuf Bin Alawi.

Bin Alawi, Vaezi pointed out, visited Tehran for talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the Iran-Oman bilateral ties and regional developments. “There has not been any talk of mediation in their negotiations at all,” he stressed.

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On the Iraqi prime minister’s recent announcement of sending two separate delegations to Iran and the US to “end tensions” between the two countries, the Iranian official said that Baghdad and Tehran were having “very close relations.” “We do not say that they [Iraqis] should not come, we will listen to them, but what matters is what decision we will be making about their proposal,” he explained.

Relations between Iran and the US have strained following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in and re-imposition of economic sanctions on Tehran. Tensions have stepped up in recent days after the US’ Pentagon announced that it had sent the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and bombers to the Middle East for alleged “intelligence about possible preparations by Iran to carry out attacks against US forces or interests.”

Washington withdrew a year ago from the deal between Iran and global powers, under which Tehran curbed its uranium enrichment capacity, a potential pathway to a nuclear bomb, and won sanctions relief in return. It restored sanctions on Iran last year and extended them this month, ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or face penalties of their own.