Iran's leadership sees no reason to start direct talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
As Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, unblocking frozen Iranian assets could be the first step in restoring trust between Tehran and Washington.
"For this to happen, there must be a reason. I don't see one at the moment. But of course, we need to see what policy they will pursue, whether there will be a basis for dialogue," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "In the past, we had direct talks with the United States, we had constant contacts with them, we managed to conclude a nuclear deal. The US administration has decided to withdraw from the deal and trust is waning, but I am not saying it is impossible to restore it. "
"We are mired in mistrust," Araghchi added, noting that "unlocking Iranian assets" frozen in various jurisdictions by the US could be a first step "to restore trust." "I cannot say that one or two steps will restore trust because our relationship has been through a difficult path. I think the United States knows better than anyone what needs to be done to achieve this," he continued.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany with Iran in 2015 to resolve the crisis over the country's nuclear development. In 2018 then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and reinstated all previously lifted anti-Iran sanctions. Since April 2021, Russia, China, the US, the UK, Germany and France have been negotiating with Iran to restore the deal, which ended inconclusively in 2022.
Meanwhile, a secret agency of the Iranian Ministry of Defense responsible for nuclear development is alleged to be working on the country's space program. The allegation was made in a report by the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Fox News reported on Friday.
“Data collected over several months shows that Iran's Defense Innovation and Research Organization has stepped up work on nuclear warheads at its Shahroud and Semnan sites,“ the report said. According to his information, these facilities were previously considered exclusively related to space development.
The report also mentions the Qaem-100 launch vehicle, which Tehran is using to launch the Chamran-1 research satellite in September 2024. The NCRI believes that it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The second facility, the Semnan Cosmodrome, is said to be used to build liquid-fueled rockets such as the Simorgh, which can launch heavy satellites into orbit. However, the organization believes that they can also be adapted to deliver nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, in mid-January, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with NBC Newsthat Tehran is not pursuing the goal of creating nuclear weapons.