Iran FM says no meetings planned with US

Istanbul: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday Tehran had no plans in place to meet with US officials about resuming talks, insisting preparatory work was the first priority.

“No meeting plan has been set between us and the Americans. We are ready for fair and just negotiations, but preparations are needed, both in terms of the form and subject of the discussions and the venue,” he said, indicating he had discussed the matter with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan at talks in Istanbul.

At a press conference in Istanbul after talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said Iran’s missile and defence capabilities will never be up for negotiation, “I want to state firmly that Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiation.”

“If the negotiations are fair and on an equal footing, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to participate,” he said, adding the standard disclaimer that Tehran has “never sought to obtain nuclear weapons”.