Iranian official says Witkoff rejected Iran's call for talks in New York

TABNAK, Oct. 01 - Government spokeswoman says that Iran announced in New York its readiness to hold a meeting with the E3, the IAEA, and US Witkoff, but they refused to hold the requested meeting before the re-imposition of sanctions.

News ID: 6792

Date: 01 October 2025 - 16:11

President Masoud Pezeshkian's government's spokesman Fatemeh Mohajerani told reporters on Wednesday after attending a cabinet meeting that "As regards the negotiations, it is natural that we only accept an agreement that secures our national interests. However, since in their demands, I mean those of the Americans or Europeans, did not take into account our national interests, we did not agree to them."

She also said that "as the Foreign Minister [Abbas Araghchi] reported, Iran announced in New York its readiness to hold a meeting with the participation of three European countries, the Agency, and Witkoff, but it was not accepted by them, therefore they did not attend the meetings."

"At first, the issue was to have talks about the 60% uranium stockpiles in return for the snapback cancellation. The complete leaving aside of the snapback was Iran's demand, but the other side did not accept it. At first, they said it would be suspended for about 6 months. This was Mr. Witkoff's insistence," she explained.

"Even on the last night, a proposal for a 45-day postponement [of the snapback] was put forward by Iran, which was ultimately not accepted due to pressures from the Zionist lobby," she also said, according to ISNA.

The spokeswoman stressed that "The Iranian people should know that the diplomatic apparatus did everything it could to either eliminate the snapback issue altogether or postpone it. However, the pressure of the Zionist lobby was evident in the decisions made in the United States and Europe. Despite the Europeans' own desire, they changed their decision and ultimately we witnessed the return of sanctions."