TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country has “no objection” to resuming nuclear negotiations with the United States, but stressed that talks can only restart if mutual trust is rebuilt.
In an interview released on Monday, Pezeshkian questioned how Iran could engage in dialogue if there were renewed risks of Israeli attacks during the process.
“We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,” Pezeshkian told US media figure Tucker Carlson, as quoted by AFP. “There is a condition … for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again?”
Pezeshkian expressed deep concern over the possibility of renewed Israeli aggression during future negotiations, questioning the reliability of US assurances.
“We re-entered the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks, the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?”
On June 13, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
The Israeli attacks took place days before Tehran and Washington were set to meet for a new round of nuclear talks, which began on April 12.
More than 900 people were killed in Iran during the conflict, according to the judiciary.
Attempted assassination
The Iranian President said that Israel, during the 12-day war with Iran, had attempted to assassinate him.
“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian said in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him.
“It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting… they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Persian, in apparent reference to an alleged assassination attempt during the recent war.
The Israeli attacks drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.
The 12-day war between Iran and Israel saw it, along with the United States, launching strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz. – Agencies
