Iran will not return to negotiations with the United States as long as Washington makes "unreasonable demands," the Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations that ended with the 12-day air war in June in which Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
"Talks that were ongoing with the US as well as New York negotiations were suspended and did not go forward because of excessive US demands," Abbas Araqchi said, according to Tasnim.
"They (America) should accept that they should enter negotiations based on mutual interests, based on mutual respect, from an equal position, negotiations that aim to find diplomatic and peaceful solutions to the problems that exist. If they want to try other paths, they have already tried them and failed. If they want to use bullying and excessive demands, they have tried it before and they will not get results," he said.
Last month an Iranian insider told Reuters, opens new tab that "several messages have been conveyed to Washington for resumption of talks via mediators in the past weeks, but Americans have not responded".
Earlier this month Iran's government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said that American officials did not attend a meeting proposed by Iran in New York during the UN General Assembly.
Araqchi said on Wednesday that Iran had contacts with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff through mediators, reiterating that Iran "has always been committed to diplomacy and peaceful solutions".
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear programme as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
