Iran says it "needs more time" before resuming nuclear talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed the possibility of a quick resumption of nuclear talks with the United States despite US President Donald Trumps remarks suggesting negotiations could restart as early as this week Al Jazeera reportedAraghchis comments came during an interview on CBS Evening News on Monday as foreign ministers from the Group of Seven G7 nations issued a joint statement calling for renewed dialogue to curb Irans nuclear programmeIran and the US were engaged in talks when Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure The US subsequently joined the offensive targeting the Fordow Natanz and Isfahan sites on June 21Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is peaceful while the US and Israel say they aim to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons Araghchi said Iran would not reengage in talks unless it received guarantees that no further military attacks would occur during the negotiationsIn order for us to decide to reengage we would have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations he said I think with all these considerations we still need more time he added while noting that the doors of diplomacy will never slam shutThe Trump administration is pursuing renewed talks with Tehran after previously withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement during Trumps first term That deal had capped uranium enrichment at 367 percent in exchange for sanctions relief Following the US withdrawal Iran increased enrichment to 60 percent still below weapons grade but above civilian useTrump has claimed that US strikes had obliterated Irans nuclear sites with senior US officials saying it would be nearly impossible for Iran to revive its atomic programmeAraghchi rejected that claim One cannot obliterate the technology and science for enrichment through bombings he told CBS If there is this will on our part and the will exists in order to once again make progress in this industry we will be able to expeditiously repair the damages and make up for the lost timeAl Jazeeras Resul Serdar reporting from Tehran said tensions have increased between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA They Iranians are saying that they will only allow the inspectors to return once they secure the nuclear sites that were bombed by the US and Israel Serdar reportedIran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA following what President Masoud Pezeshkian described as the agency chiefs destructive behaviourMeanwhile the G7 foreign ministers welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and Israel and called for renewed negotiationsWe call for the resumption of negotiations resulting in a comprehensive verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Irans nuclear program they said in a joint statement on Monday They also urged all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilise the region Al Jazeera reportedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever