Still ready for meaningful negotiations with Iran: Washington

Washington: Morgan Ortagus, advisor to the US mission at the United Nations and former spokesperson for the State Department, confirmed in a rare public exchange between diplomats of the two countries that "the United States is still prepared for formal negotiations with Iran, but only if Tehran is prepared for direct and purposeful negotiations."

Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Tuesday evening, she further stated that the US will not negotiate in public. Ortagus added that US President Donald Trump has extended "a hand of diplomacy" to Tehran during his presidency.

On the other hand, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, emphasized that his country is "fully committed to principled diplomacy and genuine negotiations." He further stated that it is now up to France, the UK, and the US to "change course and take concrete and trustworthy steps to restore confidence."

According to the Associated Press, the Iranian ambassador clarified that Tehran still stands by the fundamental principles of the 2015 nuclear deal, which aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and under which Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

These statements come at a time when the gap between the Trump administration and Iran regarding the nuclear deal is widening. After a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June this year, a sixth round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran was scheduled, but those talks were canceled. During the war, the US had supported Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear facilities.

It is worth noting that in September, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected any direct nuclear negotiations with the US. Donald Trump had withdrawn from the deal in 2018, which was agreed upon between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council, including Germany.