Iran has firmly denied that it plans to resume nuclear talks with the United States following the end of its 12-day war with Israel, pushing back against comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and accusing Washington of overstating the damage caused by recent airstrikes.
On Wednesday, President Trump told reporters that the U.S. would engage in fresh discussions with Iran next week, and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed hope for “a comprehensive peace agreement.” However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the prospect of renewed dialogue, calling it baseless speculation.
“I would like to state clearly that no agreement, arrangement, or conversation has been made to start new negotiations,” Araghchi said on state television. “No plan has been set yet to start negotiations.”
His comments came after Iran’s parliament passed a binding bill suspending cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly rejected U.S. claims that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been set back.
In his first speech since the ceasefire, Khamenei declared Iran had achieved “victory” over Israel and accused the U.S. of “exaggerating events in unusual ways.”
“President Trump needed this exaggeration,” Khamenei said. “The Islamic Republic won and in retaliation dealt a severe slap to the face of America.”
The U.S. had claimed its strikes destroyed key parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Trump said American bombers “obliterated” facilities like the underground Fordow uranium enrichment site. CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed those claims, describing the use of GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles.
However, leaked intelligence assessments suggest the strikes may have only delayed Iran’s program by several months. While Araghchi admitted the damage was “serious,” he added that investigations were ongoing. Speculation also swirled around whether Iran had moved enriched uranium from key sites ahead of the strikes — a theory Trump dismissed, calling it “too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”
The war, which began in mid-June after Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, resulted in significant casualties. Iran’s health ministry reported at least 627 civilian deaths from Israeli attacks, while Israeli officials said 28 people were killed in Iranian missile retaliations.
Despite conflicting victory claims from both sides — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “historic win” — the full impact of the conflict remains unclear. French President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S. strikes were “genuinely effective,” but warned the “worst-case scenario” would be Iran exiting the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Iran continues to insist it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and maintains that it remains open to diplomacy, but under conditions it deems fair and without external pressure.
