Iranian official says excessive demands made by the United States are an obstacle to personal talks

ANTALIA, Turkey (AP) — A senior Iranian official said Saturday that Iran is not yet ready to hold a new round of direct talks with U.S. officials, citing Washington’s refusal to abandon “maximum” demands on key issues.

In an interview with the Associated Press on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Turkey, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh also said that his country would not deliver enriched uranium to the United States, rejecting the claims of US President Donald Trump.

“I can tell you that no enriched materials will be shipped to the United States,” Khatibzadeh said. He added: “This is a non-starter, and I can assure you that while we are prepared to address any concerns we have, we will not accept things that are non-starters.”

Trump said on Friday that the United States would go to Iran and “get all the nuclear fallout,” referring to the 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by US military strikes last year.

Khatibzadeh said that there had been many exchanges of messages between the two sides, but he accused the United States of adhering to Iran’s demands, which it considered excessive.

Khatibzadeh said: “We have not yet reached an actual meeting because there are issues on which the Americans have not yet abandoned their hard-line stance.” He added that Iran is seeking to finalize a “framework agreement” before moving to a personal meeting.

The Iranian official did not go into details of the negotiations with the United States or mention the issues that remain unresolved, but he called on Washington to address Iran’s concerns, including the sanctions imposed on it.

Khatibzadeh said: “Other parties must also understand and address our main concerns, which are the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the Americans on the Iranians, and this economic terrorism that targeted the Iranian people to stifle them and make them revolt against the political structure inside Iran.”

In response to a question about whether Iran would respond to renewed Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire, Khatibzadeh said: “Iran has no choice but to stop the aggressors once and for all.”

Trump said that the United States is “preventing” Israel from launching further strikes on Lebanon, and that “that is enough” in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The State Department said the ban only applies to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense.

The Iranian official reiterated Iran’s position that Tehran’s actions were defensive and in response to unprovoked aggression occurring in the middle of negotiations.

He reiterated Iran’s position that the ceasefire should extend to Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

When the United States and Iran announced a temporary truce last week, Pakistan and Iran said it extended to Lebanon, but Israel – and later the United States – denied this. Israel then launched a series of air strikes on central Beirut, prompting Iran to announce the closure of the Strait of Hormuz again. After implementing the truce in Lebanon on Friday, Iran said it had reopened the strait.

Khatibzadeh said, “Iran negotiated in good faith and accepted the ceasefire and told everyone that this ceasefire must include all countries, including Lebanon.” “Then the other side said they were not committed to this and then started committing atrocities.”

He said that a “new protocol” regarding the Strait of Hormuz would be drawn up within the framework of negotiations with the United States, and it would remain “open and safe for all civilian corridors.”

Trump said that the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place and that attacks will resume if an agreement is not reached with Iran.