Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday amid efforts to ease regional tensions with US coordination
Iran said negotiations with Washington will be meaningless until its seven conditions are met
Abbas Gouzardi accused the US of trying to strip Iran of its nuclear capacity and control over the Strait of Hormuz
Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday as efforts continued to ease regional tensions in coordination with the United States, citing an official briefed on the situation. Iran also signalled that negotiations with Washington cannot proceed unless its earlier conditions are accepted.
Tehran's latest stance comes as Donald Trump says the choice is between a deal and renewed attacks.
Iran's Seven Conditions
Abbas Gouzardi, spokesman for the speaker of Iran's parliament, told the state-linked ISNA news agency that talks with the US would be pointless until Tehran's seven conditions were met. He described Trump's recent warnings of possible further attacks as "boasting with the aim of threatening".
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced its seven conditions, and until these conditions are met negotiations will be meaningless," Gouzardi said. He also accused Washington of trying to strip Iran of its nuclear capacity and its control over the Strait of Hormuz to ease pressure on itself.
Trump's Decision Point
Trump said a decision is approaching on whether to strike a deal with Tehran or restart attacks, against what he described as rising Iranian and Houthi threats against Americans in the Middle East. He made the remarks in an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.
"I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That's all," Trump said in the interview. "We don't play games."
Trump has also said US strikes on Iran could resume after the November 3 midterm elections. He has moved additional military assets toward the Persian Gulf, including a third aircraft carrier group.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Georgia, Trump claimed that Iran had lost its top leaders and military capabilities, making it difficult for the US to find anyone with whom to negotiate. “I gotta stop” killing Iranian leaders, Trump told the rally, “because I gotta figure out who the hell we're negotiating with.” “They don't have any airplanes, no ships, no anything, no leaders. Level one leader is gone, level two leader is gone,” he added, reiterating his claims about the destruction of Iran's military and leadership.
Diplomatic efforts to settle the Strait of Hormuz dispute remain stalled, despite Qatar's mediation push and the added US military pressure.
