Iran will not budge on talks during US blockade – envoy in China

Iran will not budge on talks while the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, Tehran’s envoy to Beijing, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, has said.

Iran complied with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) framework while the US exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) unilaterally, Fazli told RT India in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Fazli said the conditions that the US is trying to impose do not show any reciprocity, adding: “What they are showing is actually the closure of the Hormuz Strait, and also they are threatening Iran militarily.”

The approach is “affecting the atmosphere of the talks,” he said. “What they expect from Iran is not dialogue, but surrender.”

Fazli stated that when the conditions are right, Iran will favor dialogue. The aims of Iran’s nuclear program are peaceful, and according to the country’s rightful needs, he added. “It has always been according to the IAEA’s laws and regulations.”

Fazli said that during the past two rounds of negotiations with Iran, when talks were progressing smoothly, the US “broke their promises and adopted actions against Iran which led to the current condition.”

For Iran, uranium enrichment is non-negotiable, he stressed. “Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and imposition of illogical requests upon Iran. That is our red line.”

Fazli’s remarks come as Iranian and US negotiators are set to arrive in Pakistan for a second round of talks as a shaky ceasefire is due to expire.

Vice President J.D. Vance will reportedly lead the US side, joined by President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iran’s team will be headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Both sides are expected to arrive in Islamabad later on Tuesday.