Iran says US accountability for attacks on nuclear sites part of any future talks

Tehran: Iran said Monday it would hold the United States accountable for attacks on its nuclear sites in any future negotiations, while ruling out direct talks with Washington.

The United States struck key Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, briefly joining a war launched by Israel that had derailed talks on Tehran’s atomic programme.

“In any potential negotiation... the issue of holding the United States accountable and demanding compensation for committing military aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities will be one of the topics on the agenda,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a press briefing on Monday.

Asked whether Iran would engage in direct talks with the United States, Baqaei said: “No.”

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented attack targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, but also hitting residential areas over 12 days of war, which US forces joined with attacks on nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

The fighting derailed talks that began in April and had been the highest-level contact between Tehran and Washington since the United States abandoned in 2018 a landmark agreement on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Following the war, Tehran has suspended cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and demanded guarantees against military action before resuming any negotiations.

Washington has dismissed Tehran’s call for compensation as “ridiculous”.

Baqaei said on Monday that Iran was committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but criticised what he described as the “politicised and unprofessional approach” of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The foreign ministry spokesman said that the IAEA’s deputy chief is expected in Iran “in less than 10 days”.

Last month, Iran said future cooperation with the UN agency would take on a “new form”.

On July 25, Iranian diplomats met with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France, in the first meeting since the war with Israel ended.

The three European powers are parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, which unravelled after the US withdrew during Trump’s first term.

In recent weeks, the trio has threatened to trigger sanctions if Tehran failed to agree a deal on uranium enrichment and cooperation with UN inspectors.

Iran has repeatedly called reimposing sanctions “illegal” and insisted on its right to enrich uranium.

Israel and Western nations accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.