Iran says direct talks with the US are off the table while Israel keeps bombing — diplomacy hangs by a thread.
Iran has ruled out direct nuclear negotiations with the United States unless Israel halts its ongoing military strikes against the country, Iranian officials told European mediators during high-stakes talks in Geneva, according to diplomatic sources cited by CNN.
At a closed-door meeting on Friday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — the so-called E3 — along with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
According to CNN, the Iranian side made it clear that any direct talks with the US would be conditional on an immediate cessation of Israeli attacks.
CNN cited a Western official briefed on the discussions as saying that the Iranian delegation told European diplomats they would not meet with the US while their territory was under fire.
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While European officials acknowledged they had no authority to guarantee an Israeli halt, they pledged to convey Tehran’s position to Washington.
In what appeared to be a tentative opening, Iranian officials reportedly said they would consult with their leadership about potentially pausing Iranian strikes on Israel — if Israel did the same.
However, the official also stated that Washington had sent a “very direct message” emphasizing that a halt to uranium enrichment by Iran would be a non-negotiable condition for any such dialogue — a position Tehran has repeatedly rejected.
An Iranian source confirmed to CNN that suspending uranium enrichment remains a red line for Tehran.
The Geneva discussions — the first face-to-face meeting since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Iran nearly two weeks ago — were described as “respectful and serious” by the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
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CNN reported that the talks, which lasted nearly three and a half hours, were at times tense, with both sides trading accusations over the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and recent escalations.
Yet following a break midway through, the tone reportedly shifted.
Meanwhile, tensions played out on the global stage as well. At an emergency UN Security Council meeting convened Friday, the Iranian and Israeli ambassadors traded fierce accusations.
Iran’s Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani stated that Tehran’s strikes are self-defense and condemned Israeli attacks as violations of international law.
For his part, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon lambasted Iran’s posture, accusing Tehran of “playing the victim” and vowing that Israel would not stop until Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities were dismantled.
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“Israel will not stop. Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed,” Danon claimed.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reportedly warned that the conflict risked spiraling out of control.
“The expansion of this conflict could light a fire that no one can control,” he said, urging an immediate return to negotiations and restraint from all parties.
(PC, CNN)
