Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Mashhad on Wednesday, Araqchi said the previous rounds of talks with the US came to a halt and did not go forward due to the American side’s excessive demands.
The foreign minister underlined that Iran will not return to the negotiating table as long as the US maintains its policy of making excessive demands and insists on irrational requests.
In remarks on September 23, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei elaborated on the futility of negotiating with the US, stating, “The American side has predetermined and announced the outcomes of negotiations from its own perspective, and it seeks talks whose result would be the cessation of nuclear activities and enrichment within Iran.”
The Leader described engaging in such negotiations as equivalent to accepting the counterpart’s dictates, impositions, and coercion. “Now, he (the US president) says that enrichment must be terminated, but just a few days ago one of their officials stated that Iran should not even possess medium-range or short-range missiles — meaning that Iran’s hands should be so tied that if it were attacked, it could not even respond to the US bases.”
Following his explanation of the futility of negotiating with the US, Ayatollah Khamenei elaborated on the harms of such negotiations, stating, “The counterpart has threatened that if you do not negotiate, such and such will occur. Therefore, accepting such negotiations signifies submission, fear, and trembling — a surrender of the nation and the country in the face of threats.”
He warned that yielding to US threats only encourages further coercive and endless demands. “Today they say that if you pursue enrichment, we will take action; tomorrow, possessing missiles or having relations — or lack thereof — with certain countries will become grounds for threats and pressure to force retreat.”