Iran rules out nuclear talks with US, slams Washington’s ‘bullying and imposition’

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has categorically ruled out any negotiations with the US over the country’s nuclear programme, denouncing Washington’s demands as “bullying” and a violation of Iranian sovereignty. 

Speaking during a nationally televised address, Khamenei rejected renewed US pressure as an attempt to humiliate Iran and undermine its right to peaceful nuclear development. “Over these past decades, they wanted Iran to give up [its nuclear programme] under pressure. But we have not surrendered and never will,” he said.

Khamenei warned that resuming talks under present conditions would inflict “irreparable harm” and signal “surrender and disgrace” to a country already under siege. “The US has announced the result of the talks in advance. The result is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment. This is not a negotiation. It is a diktat, an imposition,” he insisted.

The remarks come as a 30-day countdown nears its conclusion, following a move last month by the UK, France and Germany to activate the snapback clause of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The clause permits the reimposition of UN sanctions if Iran is deemed to be in breach of the agreement.

European officials have pushed Iran to engage in talks with Washington and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), yet Tehran has remained defiant, especially in the wake of Israel’s 12-day war on Iran in June. That war, which saw joint US-Israeli bombing of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, has further hardened Iranian resistance to Western overtures.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is exclusively for civilian purposes, including medicine and energy, and has repeatedly denied any ambition to acquire nuclear weapons. “Negotiations with the US under current circumstances will only serve their aim to end our enrichment,” Khamenei reiterated. “This is not negotiation—it is bullying.”

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Tehran has also demanded ironclad assurances from Washington that it will not face future attacks during negotiations, and that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment will be preserved. Yet both demands have been rebuffed by US officials.

Khamenei’s firm rejection of talks echoes Iran’s disillusionment with the 2015 deal, which he described as a lesson in US bad faith. That agreement was upended in 2018 by President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew the US and reimposed sweeping sanctions despite Iran’s compliance. “It proved to us that America is untrustworthy,” Khamenei said.

US President Donald Trump recently boasted about ordering the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities during his speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday, describing Iran as the “world’s number one sponsor of terror.” His remarks followed repeated threats that Tehran would “never be allowed” to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also denounced the US position: “One cannot engage in talks with someone who wants to impose, bully, sabotage and act with mischief.”

While foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany met Iran’s Abbas Araghchi in New York this week, European diplomats concede that prospects for avoiding the snapback of sanctions are slim. The German foreign office urged Iran to take “practical steps within the next days, if not hours,” to address nuclear concerns.

However, Iran has accused the E3 of violating their own commitments under the JCPOA and rejected their legal authority to activate the snapback clause. Tehran argues that the West failed to deliver the promised sanctions relief, leaving Iran with little incentive to continue adhering to a deal that has yielded no tangible benefits.

The UN Security Council recently voted against extending Iran’s sanctions relief, reinforcing Tehran’s view that the international system is stacked against it. The decision could freeze Iranian assets, halt arms transactions, and impose new penalties on its ballistic missile programme.

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