Tehran, Apr 7 (EFE).- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Monday that Tehran was awaiting the United States’ response to hold indirect talks about its nuclear program in Oman.
“Now the ball is in the US’ court to respond to the Islamic Republic’s proposal, although we are in no hurry,” Araqchi said in an interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran via the United Arab Emirates urging negotiations over its nuclear program and has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if an agreement is not reached.
Tehran responded on Mar. 26 with the message that it was only willing to hold indirect talks with Washington, given the US president’s military threats and the imposition of new sanctions to cut off sales of Iranian oil.
Iran’s top diplomat reaffirmed once again on Monday that his country was prepared to hold indirect negotiations with the US in Oman, a country that has acted as an intermediary in the past between the two rivals.
For his part, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei said on Monday that Trump’s letter only addressed negotiations on the nuclear issue, and not on the missile program or support for regional groups such as Hezbollah or Hamas, as some media outlets have speculated.
The spokesperson also singled out Oman as the location chosen by Tehran to hold these indirect negotiations, an offer he described as “generous” and “wise.”
Since his return to the White House, Trump has called for negotiations with Tehran and even sent the letter urging them to do so.
However, he has also resumed the so-called “maximum pressure” policy against Iran and approved four rounds of sanctions to cut off sales of Iranian oil and even threatened to bomb the country if it does not reach an agreement. EFE
ash-jlr/pd