The First Vice President of Iran, Aref, stated that if conditions are appropriate, Iran could hold direct nuclear talks with the United States, but the U.S. demand for Iran to completely abandon uranium enrichment is a 'big joke.'
The Iranian news agency reported on the 12th that Aref, during a meeting with media reporters, said that Iran has already informed the U.S. side of its willingness to build mutual trust and is prepared to negotiate under 'balanced conditions.' However, the U.S. seems to be 'pretending to be asleep.'
With mediation by Oman, the U.S. and Iran have held five rounds of indirect talks since April this year, during which the intermediary conveyed messages between the parties. There are huge differences between the two sides on several core issues. The sixth round of talks was originally scheduled for June 15 but was canceled due to an Israeli raid on Iran. During the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict, the United States directly bombed Iranian nuclear facilities at one point, and in retaliation, Iran launched a missile attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where U.S. forces are stationed.
In 2015, Iran reached a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany. In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from that agreement, and subsequently resumed and continually escalated unilateral sanctions against Iran.