Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei responds to reporters on his country's foreign policy agenda and regional developments during the weekly press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital Tehran. AFP
"Our negotiating party is America. It is up to America to decide to act independently of the pressures and destructive influences that are detrimental to the region," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
"The Zionist regime has repeatedly, as a saboteur, shown that it opposes any diplomatic process in our region that leads to peace."
Tehran and Washington resumed talks in Muscat on Friday, months after earlier negotiations collapsed following Israel's unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June, which triggered a 12-day war.
The United States later joined the campaign, launching its own strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel and by targeting the largest US military base in the Middle East, located in Qatar.
"The June experience was a very bad experience. Therefore, taking these experiences into account, we are determined to secure Iran's national interests through diplomacy," Baqaei added.
He said Friday's discussions addressed general topics, adding that it "was not a long meeting" but was "to measure the seriousness of the other side".
Baqaei insisted that Iran's focus would remain strictly on the nuclear file in return for sanctions relief.
Tehran has repeatedly said it rejects any negotiations that extend beyond that issue.
Despite pushing for intervention against Iran, Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and maintains a policy of “nuclear ambiguity,” neither confirming nor denying that it possesses nuclear weapons. As a result, Israel is not subject to the NPT’s inspection and disarmament obligations.
On Saturday, Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli premier "believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis" -- referring to Iran's allied armed groups in the region.
The talks followed threats from Washington and the deployment of a US aircraft carrier group to the region after Iran's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests last month.
Iranian authorities said the protests, which erupted in late December over the rising cost of living, began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into "riots" involving killings and vandalism, which they said were inflamed by the United States and Israel.
Following Friday's talks, the US announced new sanctions to curb Iran's oil exports, including targeting 14 vessels.
US and Israeli officials have openly expressed a desire for regime change in Iran, and some have acknowledged the presence of operatives on the ground.
Baqaei dismissed the suggestion that "these pressures and threats will have any effect on" Iran, saying the country "will certainly respond with a crushing response if it is subjected to military aggression".
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