Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said a US offer to hold talks on Tehran's nuclear programme is aimed at "deceiving public opinion" and increasing pressure on Iran, after a letter was delivered from US President Donald Trump calling for negotiations.
Mr Trump last week said he wanted to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran. He said he hoped the letter would avoid the need for any military action. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the letter was received and delivered by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed.
“What negotiations [should] we have when we know that he will not abide by? Therefore, the invitation for negotiations and stating it are to deceive the public opinion,” Mr Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media, adding that he believed talks with the Trump administration would only increase US pressure on Iran without lifting sanctions.
“If the aim of talks is to lift the sanctions, negotiation with this US government will not lead to the lifting of the sanctions,” he added. Mr Khamenei made the remarks while speaking to a group of university students.
Mr Khamenei reiterated that the reason for his refusal to engage with the US administration was because Mr Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. “We sat down and negotiated for several years” but “this person” tore up the agreement, he said.
In an interview with Fox Business, Mr Trump stated last week: "There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist elected in July, has advocated reviving a 2015 nuclear accord agreed with world powers, which collapsed after Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the pact in 2018. However, Mr Khamenei, who holds ultimate decision-making authority in the country, has repeatedly opposed negotiations with the US.
Mr Pezeshkian restated on Tuesday that Iran sought global engagement but would not accept humiliation. "We need to have a relationship with the world ... but we're not supposed to bow in humiliation to anyone."
Iranian officials have repeatedly said they would not negotiate under “intimidation” as Mr Trump intensifies a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.
Mr Khamenei said negotiations with “this US government will increase pressure” on his nation, raise expectations and create new demands. “Negotiations will not resolve any problem," he said.
“If we had intended to build nuclear weapons, America would not have been able to stop us,” Mr Khamenei added. Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Mr Trump's outreach to Iran comes in the wake of heavy losses suffered by Iran’s proxies in their conflict with Israel, as well as increased co-ordination between the US and Russia, Iran’s ally, to ease tensions from Ukraine to Syria and beyond.
On Friday, Iran, despite sending mixed signals about its willingness to negotiate, will participate in nuclear talks with Russia and China. The meeting will focus on Tehran’s nuclear programme and the potential for lifting sanctions.
China on Thursday called for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host the talks.
"In the current situation, we believe that all parties should maintain calm and restraint to avoid escalating the Iran nuclear situation, or even walking towards confrontation and conflict," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
The talks between the three sides aims to "strengthen communication and co-ordination, to resume dialogue and negotiation at an early time".
"China sincerely hopes that all parties can work together, continuously increase mutual trust and dispel misgivings, and turn the momentum of restarting dialogue and negotiation into reality at an early date," Ms Mao said.
Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60 per cent purity, close to the roughly 90 per cent weapons-grade level, the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned.
Washington urged the UN Security Council to unite in denouncing Iran's nuclear programme in a private meeting on Wednesday. Mr Trump “has made clear that Iran's nuclear programme poses a threat to international peace and security, which the Security Council is charged with protecting”, the US mission said after the closed-door meeting.
Mr Araghchi said Iran is co-operating with the IAEA and that there is a new idea for resolving the issues.
"We also have a plan regarding possible nuclear negotiations," he told an Iranian newspaper.
The Iranian diplomat said if Tehran enters talks with the "other side imposing maximum pressure then the talks will not achieve anything".
Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, said on Thursday that Tehran will not "negotiate under pressure, and any attempt to force us to accept an unfair agreement is doomed to fail".