Iran has declared dialogue with the United States over its nuclear program “meaningless” following Israel’s largest-ever military strike on Iranian territory.
The attack, which Tehran claims was supported by Washington, has cast doubt on the sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, Oman.
“The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime [Israel] to target Iran’s territory,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, as quoted by state media on Saturday.
Baghaei added, “It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday.”
The US has rejected Iran’s accusations of involvement in Israel’s attacks, urging Tehran at the United Nations Security Council to pursue negotiations.
President Donald Trump, who described the Israeli strikes as “excellent,” suggested the conflict could be a “second chance” for Iran to avoid further devastation.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump warned, “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.”
Despite the tensions, Trump told Reuters his administration still sees potential for a nuclear deal, though Iran remains defiant, denying its uranium enrichment is for anything beyond civilian purposes.
In Tehran, the Israeli strikes have not sparked the anticipated unrest, according to Hamed Mousavi, a political science professor at Tehran University.
“The Israelis essentially killed the diplomatic solution and what was surprising was the Americans were fully coordinating with the Israelis in that regard. So I think it’s unlikely the negotiations will continue,” Mousavi told Al Jazeera.
He noted that the mood in Iran is “pretty defiant,” with little sympathy for Israel’s goal of regime change.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue strikes to counter Iran’s alleged nuclear threat, the prospects for diplomacy remain uncertain.