Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday ruled out direct talks with the United States over the nuclear program, likely ending a final bid to prevent the reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks, aired on Iranian state television, likely constrain any possible outreach to the U.S. by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly. Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held meetings with diplomats from France, Germany and the United Kingdom over the reimposition of the sanctions, set to take effect Sunday.
Talks with the U.S. represent "a sheer dead end,” Khamenei said.
"The U.S. has announced result of the talks in advance," he added. "The result is the closure of nuclear activities and enrichment, This is not a negotiation. It is a diktat, an imposition.”
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul already described the chance of reaching an agreement with Iran "extremely slim” even before Khamenei's comments, the German news agency dpa reported.
