Antalya, Turkey: Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Saturday from the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in this southern Turkish province that no date has been set for the next round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, stressing that a framework of understanding must be agreed upon first.
The top-level US-Iran discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution wrapped up in Islamabad last weekend with no deal reached.
Trump Hints At Weekend Talks
US President Donald Trump informed Reuters of probable additional direct talks this weekend, but diplomats expressed doubts due to logistical issues in Islamabad, the anticipated site.
“We are now focusing on finalising the framework of understanding between two sides. We don’t want to enter into any negotiation or meeting which is doomed to fail and which can be a pretext for another round of escalation,”
Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in the southern Turkish province of Antalya.
“Until we agree the framework, we cannot set the date… There was significant progress made actually. But then the maximalist approach by the other side, trying to make Iran an exception from international law prevented us to reach an agreement,” he said, referring to U.S. demands over Iran’s nuclear programme.
“I have to be very crystal clear that Iran would not accept to be an exception from the international law. Anything that we are going to be committed will be within the international regulations and international law.”
Hormuz Tension Tied To Ceasefire Compliance
Regarding reports that Iran reclosed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after its temporary reopening following a US-brokered 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, Khatibzadeh said Iran had announced safe passage for commercial vessels in line with truce terms.
“The other side, the American side, tried to sabotage that by saying that it is open except for Iranians. So that was the reason we said that ‘if you are going to violate the ceasefire terms and conditions, if Americans are not going to honour their words, there will be repercussions for them’,” he said.