'It's meaningless': Iran top diplomat rules out direct negotiations with US

Tehran on Sunday ruled out the possibility of direct negotiations with Washington, days after US President Donald

Trump

said he was open to speaking with Iranian leaders without intermediaries.
Iranian foreign minister

Abbas Araghchi

dismissed the offer as “meaningless,” citing continued US threats and what he called a violation of international norms.
“Direct negotiations would be meaningless with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN charter,” Araghchi said in a statement released by

Iran

’s foreign ministry. He also said that contradictory positions from American officials only further complicate trust.

"Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty," Araghchi added.
Trump, speaking on Thursday, had said he preferred direct talks. “I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries,” he argued.

A day earlier, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian also said Iran was open to dialogue—but only on equal terms. “If you want negotiations, then what is the point of threatening?” he asked, referring to Trump’s recent threat to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails. Pezeshkian also accused the United States of “humiliating” not only Iran but also the rest of the world through its foreign policy decisions.
Iranian officials made it clear they will not enter talks under pressure. “The Islamic Republic of Iran wants dialogue on equal footing,” Pezeshkian said, without specifying whether direct talks were on the table.
Also read: Iran's currency hits record low amid escalating tensions with US
The exchange come amid a renewed diplomatic and military standoff between the two countries. On Saturday, Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said Iran was “ready for any war,” although it would not start one.
Tensions remain high following the US’s 2018 withdrawal from the 2015

nuclear deal

and the re-imposition of sanctions. Iran, in turn, scaled back its compliance with the agreement and increased its nuclear activities.