The administration of US President Donald Trump has left no room for talks by repeatedly presenting “maximalist demands”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday at a news conference in Tehran.

“The current approach of the US government in no way shows readiness for an equal and fair negotiation to secure mutual interests,” he stated on the sidelines of the state-organised Tehran Dialogue Forum, attended by diplomats and envoys from across the region.

Iranian officials said they have been receiving messages from neighbouring countries seeking to mediate and maintain stability. According to Iranian media, a letter from Araghchi was delivered on Sunday to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, addressing Iran, the ceasefire in Gaza, and other regional matters. Araghchi added that communication channels with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remain open. In Vienna, where the nuclear watchdog is headquartered, Iran’s envoy met on Friday with his counterparts from China and Russia, along with representatives of the UN agency.

“There’s no enrichment right now because our nuclear enrichment facilities have been attacked,” Araghchi said. “Our message is clear: Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, including enrichment, is undeniable, and we will continue to exercise it.”

Last week, a confidential IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear programme was leaked to Western media. The report said the UN agency has been unable to verify Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent–enriched uranium since its facilities were bombed and severely damaged by the US and Israel in June. The IAEA urgently requested “long overdue” inspections of seven sites targeted during the strikes, including Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Iran has granted access to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the Tehran Research Reactor but insists that security and safety conditions have not yet been met for inspections at other facilities, where high-enriched uranium remains buried.

Over the weekend, Iranian officials signalled that three European powers – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – which were part of the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal, may be preparing to introduce another Iran-focused resolution to the IAEA board. Iran previously responded to several censure resolutions by escalating uranium enrichment. Israel launched its June attacks on Iran one day after the IAEA passed a European-tabled resolution declaring Tehran noncompliant with nuclear safeguards commitments.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Sunday, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for international and legal affairs, said Iran “reserves the right to reconsider its approaches” if a new resolution is advanced. He described the European effort as a US-backed move aimed at reinstating UN sanctions on Iran, despite strong opposition from China and Russia last month, adding that the manoeuvre “eliminated them from the field of dialogue and diplomacy with Iran”. “Another resolution will bear no additional pressure on Iran, but the message it sends shows that collaboration and coordination are not important to them,” Gharibabadi said. (Source: Al Jazeera)