Iran says US not part of war, signals talks possible if Israel halts strikes
The United States is not a party to the military conflict with Iran and must be distinguished from the Israelis, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Saturday.
“If Israeli attacks end, there is a possibility of returning to the negotiating table,” he added.
Gharibabadi said no one has the right to demand restraint from Iran.
“Have we ever attacked the United States or assassinated anyone there? Then why are there so many American military bases surrounding Iran?”
He defended Iran's missile attacks on Israel and said, “Our attack on Israel was a legitimate act of self-defense and fully legal.”
Donald Trump told his Russian counterpart the United States remains open to renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran, but Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not return to talks until Israeli attacks stop.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a 50-minute call on Saturday focused on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, after Oman's foreign minister announced the sixth round of Tehran-Washington talks will not take place.
“Putin condemned Israel's military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Saturday.
Trump said that his special envoy Steve Witkoff was ready to resume nuclear talks with Iran's foreign minister, according to the Russian president's foreign policy adviser.
“While there will be no meeting Sunday, we remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon,” Axios quoted a US official as saying.
However, Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, “The Islamic Republic will not sit at the negotiating table under pressure, irrational demands, double standards—or during continued Israeli aggression."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Saturday that continued Israeli attacks—and US support for them—made talks “unjustifiable.”
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also said Israel's strikes had “rendered diplomacy meaningless.”
Yet behind the scenes, there may still be movement. Despite Iran’s hard public line, two Western diplomats told Axios that Araghchi privately indicated Tehran could return to talks once it concludes its military response to Israel’s strikes.
A British destroyer in the northern Indian Ocean was intercepted in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s navy said, accusing the warship of guiding Israeli missiles toward Iran.
“Combat drones issued a warning that prevented the warship’s advance into the Persian Gulf,” the navy added, saying it forced the vessel to change course.
