Iran preparing for nuclear talks with US, but says 'no specific date, timer or location' fixed yet

Iran said Monday that it has “no specific date” for a meeting with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program, following a war with Israel that had stalled talks.

“For now, no specific date, time or location has been determined regarding this matter,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, referring to plans for a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US ambassador Steve Witkoff.

Iran had been negotiating with the US until Israel launched strikes on its nuclear installations last month, which Washington eventually supported.

Araghchi and Witkoff met five times, beginning in April, without reaching an agreement, before Israel started surprise strikes on June 13, sparking a 12-day conflict.

“We have been serious in diplomacy and the negotiation process, we entered with good faith, but as everyone witnessed, before the sixth round the Zionist regime, in coordination with the United States, committed military aggression against Iran”, said Baqaei.

The United States launched its own set of strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.

The extent of the damage from the strikes remains unknown.

With its own strikes, numbering in the hundreds, Israel killed nuclear scientists and top-ranking military officers as well as hitting military, nuclear and other sites.

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel, while it attacked a US base in Qatar in retaliation for Washington’s strikes.

Israel and Western nations accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has consistently denied.

While it is the only non-nuclear power to enrich uranium to 60-percent purity, close to the level needed for a warhead, the UN’s atomic energy watchdog has said it had no indication that Iran was working to weaponise its stockpiles.