Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei on Saturday called further nuclear talks with the United States “meaningless” after Israeli strikes on the country. He said that Iran’s focus in the current situation is countering “enemy aggression” and called the US “main supporter” and “accomplice of the aggressor.”
In a statement shared on X, Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baqaei said in response to reporters’ questions regarding the negotiations with the US that were scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, saying Iran’s main focus in the current situation is countering enemy aggression.”
“Baqaei added that the enemies of diplomacy and peace have imposed an unjust war on the Iranian nation, and the US, despite all its claims regarding dialogue and diplomacy, has supported the Zionist regime’s aggression, including the targeting of Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities. The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that it’s obvious that under such circumstances, and as long as the Zionist regime’s aggression against the Iranian people does not stop, participating in talks with a party that is the main supporter and accomplice of the aggressor is fundamentally meaningless,” it added.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi also announced that the talks between Iran and the US, scheduled to be held in Muscat on Sunday, will not take place.
“The Iran-US talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place. But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace,” Albusaidi posted on X.
Iran’s cancellation of talks comes after Israel launched what it called a “pre-emptive operation” on Iran targeting the latter’s nuclear program on Friday.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned Iran to make a deal “before it is too late.” He stated that the US makes the “best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world”, and Israel has “a lot of it.”
In a statement shared on Truth Social, Trump stated, “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen.”
“They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All,” he added.
Iranian Embassy in India accused Israel of targeting women and children in Iranian cities. In a post on X, Iranian Embassy in India stated, “Women and children in Iranian cities are being attacked and killed by the Zionist regime while sleeping. These innocents are being killed by missiles and military equipment donated by countries supporting this child-killing regime, while the supporting countries always make false, superficial and hypocritical claims about human rights.”
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the launch of a large-scale military campaign, Operation Rising Lion, aimed at dismantling what he described as an existential threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.Netanyahu said Israel had struck multiple high-value Iranian targets in a decisive first strike.
“Moments ago, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival,” he said, adding that the mission would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”
The Israeli leader accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons programme in defiance of global warnings, pointing to enriched uranium stockpiles capable of producing multiple nuclear bombs.
“In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine,” he noted, warning that Tehran had taken “steps to weaponise this enriched uranium” and could develop a nuclear weapon within months.