Iran insists on engaging in indirect talks with the United States due to Washington’s “contradictory policies”, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Ministry spokesperson, Ismail Baqaei, also explained that “the venue of the next round of negotiations will probably be somewhere other than Oman … the format and framework of the talks will remain unchanged.”
“Direct talks with the US will be neither fruitful nor acceptable to Iran,” he added. “Indirect negotiation is not an unconventional method. It has happened before and is based on previous proven experiences. We have to choose a method that we’re confident of its efficiency.”
“One of the reasons that Iran opted for indirect talks with the US was the contradictory American policies. The US cannot press ahead with the policy of pressure and threat at the same time with a call for direct talks,” he added, calling on Washington to “resolve this paradox.”
On Saturday, Muscat hosted a round of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
All parties expressed satisfaction with the meeting, the first of its kind since President Donald Trump took office in January, with the White House saying the discussions were very positive and constructive.