US sending mixed messages on nuclear talks, Iran deputy FM says
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh during an even in Tehran
Iran accused the United States of sending mixed signals on reviving nuclear talks, saying the June strikes on its nuclear facilities war undermined ongoing diplomacy and efforts toward a peaceful agreement.
US sending mixed messages on nuclear talks, Iran deputy FM says | Iran International
Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate on Tuesday that Iran was engaged in indirect diplomacy when the attacks took place, calling Washington’s approach a “betrayal of diplomacy.”
He said Tehran still seeks a negotiated resolution to the decades-long nuclear dispute but will not compromise on national security.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has final authority on foreign and nuclear policy, has said negotiations with Washington cannot continue under pressure.
Talks between Tehran and Washington, conducted indirectly through intermediaries earlier this year, have stalled since the June conflict, which Iranian officials say shattered trust. Major differences persist over uranium enrichment levels and the lifting of sanctions.
"Tehran is not seeking nuclear bombs and ... is prepared to assure the world about it. We are very proud of our home-grown nuclear program, and is against anyone who tries to sabotage and manipulate it" the diplomat added.
International monitors, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have reported no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, Khatibzadeh pointed out, adding that US intelligence assessments before the June conflict also indicated that Tehran was not actively pursuing bomb development.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and subject to international oversight, arguing that Western claims of weaponization are politically motivated. US officials, however, have continued to call for stricter limits on Iran’s enrichment and missile programs.
Support for regional groups
Khatibzadeh said Iran remained in contact with regional groups it considers part of its security framework, insisting their attacks on Israel were responses to the situation in Gaza and not launched on Iran’s orders.
“I would like to challenge the concept of proxies and militias... reducing them to being Iran’s militias or proxies is oversimplifying the situation,” he said, adding that for example Hezbollah was created after the Israeli attacks to Lebanon in 1980s. “With or without Iran supporting them, the resistance would stay there."
The Iranian deputy foreign minister added, “Has anybody noticed that Hezbollah has fired any bullets on behalf of Iran in the past few months? Everything Hezbollah has done has been for the cause of Palestine.”
On Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told parliament that Tehran had devoted much of its diplomatic capacity to supporting the so-called “axis of resistance,” a term it uses for allied movements in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and among Palestinian factions.
Iran exported more than 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in October, marking its highest level since 2018 when US President Donald Trump launched his so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran, data from shipping trackers show.
Data released on Monday by the US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) shows that Tehran shipped 6.86 billion barrels of oil in October — nearly 2.2 million barrels per day — valued at about 4.4 billion dollars.
According to the tracker, roughly 90 percent of Iran’s exports were destined for China.
Separately, TankerTrackers reported on Sunday that Iran’s oil exports reached a record 2.3 million barrels per day in October, the highest level in seven years for the sanctions-hit theocracy.
UANI said most shipments pass through Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf on reflagged or ghost tankers operating without transponders. The group said the trade is sustaining Iran’s military industries and regional proxies.
The US Treasury announced new sanctions last month on China-based buyers and refineries accused of processing sanctioned crude, but enforcement remains inconsistent.
Sanctions experts say the dynamic reflects a broader reality in which restrictions squeeze ordinary Iranians while enriching politically connected insiders and deepening economic ties with China.
“Sanctions have had an impact, there’s no question,” said Gregory Brew, a Middle East and energy expert, on Iran International’s Eye for Iran podcast. “But the idea that they can be used to change state behavior, I think that age is coming to an end.”
The United States on Monday suspended sanctions on Syria for 180 days except for certain transactions involving Iran and Russia, according to a statement by the Treasury.
The announcement came as President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House for landmark talks, the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington.
The Treasury order replaced a May 23 waiver and effectively extends the suspension of some of the toughest US sanctions on Syria.
The department said the move signaled its "commitment to continued sanctions relief for Syria,” while maintaining restrictions linked to Iran and Russia.
"The suspension halts the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Caesar Act except for certain transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or the transfer of provisions of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods, technology, software, funds, financing, or services," the Treasury said.
The 2019 Caesar Act aimed at cutting financial support to the former government and entities tied to abuses during the civil war that began in 2011.
Sharaa’s visit marked a turnaround for the former Islamist commander who toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran, in December and has since sought to rebuild relations with Western and regional governments.
The White House meeting followed Washington’s decision to remove Sharaa from the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
A report by Reuters citing an unnamed US official said removing the remaining Syria sanctions, including the Caesar Act, would require congressional action, which the administration would support.
Iran’s foreign ministry has channeled much of its political and diplomatic capacity into strengthening regional alliances and supporting what it describes as ‘axis of resistance,’ Minister Abbas Araghchi told parliament on Monday.
“By strengthening the Axis of Resistance and supporting unity-building movements across the Islamic world, the ministry of foreign affairs has devoted a significant portion of its capacity to providing political and diplomatic backing for the Resistance Front,” he said.
The term "axis of resistance" is used by the Islamic Republic to describe a network of allied groups in the region, including Palestinian militant organizations, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, several factions in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthi movement in Yemen.
Araghchi told the lawmakers that the foreign ministry’s activities over the past 14 months have followed four main strategic tracks.
According to him, the first, focused on security diplomacy, covers deterrence, defense, and resistance coordination. The second on economic and development diplomacy, including “resistance economy” initiatives. The third centered on building regional influence and the fourth was aimed at shaping ideas and narratives through think-tank, public, and media diplomacy.
He described recent months as a period of intensified confrontation involving the United States and Israel, citing assassinations and airstrikes across the region, including attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah figures, as justification for increased diplomatic engagement.
"Under these circumstances, a significant portion of the Foreign Ministry’s efforts has been devoted to supporting the axis of resistance, effectively functioning as the foreign ministry of the axis."
Western governments have renewed pressure on Tehran to engage in direct talks not only over its nuclear and missile programs, but also its continued backing of armed groups across the Middle East.
Iran’s diplomatic agenda, Araghchi said, also sought to build a “multipolar order,” defend national sovereignty, and counter Western sanctions through cooperation with blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Iran’s nuclear program has reached a dangerous stalemate after the 2015 deal’s expiry, collapsed talks, and lack of oversight – raising regional fears of a renewed clash with Israel, New York Times reported.
According to the Times, US strikes earlier this year failed to eliminate Iran’s enrichment capacity, and uncertainty remains over the location and scale of Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Analysts cited in the report warned that the lack of diplomacy or inspection access leaves both sides on alert, with Israel signaling readiness to act again if Iran moves closer to a weapon capability.
The Times said Iran has refused inspectors access to new underground enrichment sites such as “Pickaxe Mountain” near Natanz nuclear site and continues to face renewed United Nations sanctions and severe economic pressure.
Regional powers are urging restraint and fresh negotiations but acknowledge little progress as Tehran and Washington exchange blame over the failure of talks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency told the Financial Times last week that most of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile appears to have survived the conflict but cannot be verified without access.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman on Monday denied Tehran plotted to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Mexico after Western media reports citing US and Israeli officials said Mexican security officials foiled the plan earlier this year.
The allegation was “so absurd and baseless that our embassy initially saw no need to respond,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, adding that both the Mexican foreign ministry and its intelligence agencies had confirmed there was no such case.
“This is part of the Zionist regime’s ongoing effort to destroy Iran’s friendly relations with other states,” he told reporters at his weekly press briefing in Tehran.
Trump ‘confession’ filed at UN
Baghaei also said Iran has officially submitted US president Donald Trump’s recent comments to the United Nations as evidence of Washington’s involvement in Israeli military actions against Iran.
“This admission of a crime establishes the full responsibility of the US government,” he said. Iran is working with its judiciary and the president’s legal office to pursue international proceedings, Baghaei added.
Last week, Trump said he directed Israel’s strike on Iran during the June conflict. “Israel attacked first. That attack was very, very powerful. I was very much in charge of that,” US president told reporters last week.
Tehran, Baghaei said, is also documenting what it calls US and Israeli aggression for future legal use.
“We are seriously pursuing the documentation of the military aggression by the Israeli regime and the United States, and we are also examining all available international mechanisms to seek justice and file a complaint against the US,” he added.
Iran on agenda for IAEA meeting
On the nuclear file, Baghaei said it was not unusual for Iran’s nuclear activities to appear on the agenda of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s next Board of Governors meeting, adding that Western powers may seek to use the session to renew political pressure.
He also dismissed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s recent comments accusing Iran and Russia of undermining international rules.
“Most of the actions carried out by NATO members themselves are the very ones they accuse others of committing. This requires no analysis – one only needs to look at the facts to see which side has violated international law and the UN Charter: Iran or the NATO member states,” he said, adding that the alliance’s interventions in Afghanistan and beyond had repeatedly breached international law.
Inspectors visit nuclear sites
IAEA inspectors, Baghaei said, visited several Iranian nuclear facilities last week, including the Tehran Research Reactor. Any further inspection requests, he added, would be reviewed “in coordination with the Supreme National Security Council.”
His remarks followed IAEA chief Rafael Grossi’s statement to France 24 that Iran still holds highly enriched uranium and the technical capacity to build a nuclear weapon despite recent Israeli and US attacks on its facilities.
Sanctions relief
Asked about Trump’s separate remark that Iran had requested the lifting of sanctions from Washington, Baghaei said lifting sanctions remains a “legitimate demand of the Iranian people” rather than a gesture of goodwill by Washington.
“These sanctions have been unjustly imposed on every Iranian for decades, and their humanitarian impact amounts to a crime against humanity,” he said.
Iran continues to insist on the removal of what it calls “unlawful restrictions” as a prerequisite in any future negotiations with Western powers, he added.