• Iran never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and ‘does not intend to do so,’ says spokesman

ISTANBUL 

Iran said Monday it has not held any direct negotiations with the US, saying recent contacts were limited to messages conveyed through intermediaries.

“First, we have not conducted any direct negotiations with the United States so far. What has been discussed were messages we received through mediators indicating the United States’ desire to negotiate,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in statements carried by the Tasnim news agency.

Baqaei questioned the credibility of US claims of diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran.

“I do not know how many people in the United States take American diplomacy claims seriously. Our mission is clear, unlike the other side which constantly changes its position.”

He said Iran has maintained a consistent stance from the outset and is fully aware of the framework guiding its approach, describing proposals received as “excessive and unrealistic.”

The spokesman also said meetings hosted by Pakistan were organized “independently,” and that Iran did not participate in them.

“It is good that countries in the region are interested in ending the war, but they must clearly understand who started it,” he said.

Baqaei added that Iran’s parliament is discussing the possibility of withdrawing from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

“The question of public opinion is: what is the benefit of joining a document in which domineering parties prevent us from benefiting from its advantages and rights?” he said.

He stressed that Iran has never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and “does not intend to do so.”

“Iran’s position remains on the prohibition of all weapons of mass destruction,” he added, criticizing what he called the “destructive approach” of the International Atomic Energy Agency and certain countries which he did not name.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday said Islamabad would be “honored” to host talks between the US and Iran as part of broader mediation efforts. The South Asian country also hosted a quadrilateral foreign ministers’ meeting.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump encouraged diplomatic efforts, with intermediaries including Pakistan, Türkiye, and Egypt involved in indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran.

Despite the escalation, he said indirect talks with Iran via Pakistani “emissaries” were progressing, adding: “A deal could be made fairly quickly.”

Separately, on Monday, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s unified command of armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, accused Israel of targeting a Kuwaiti water desalination plant in an attempt to blame Iran.

“The brutal attack carried out by the Zionist entity (Israel) on the Kuwaiti water desalination plant under the pretext of accusing the Islamic Republic of Iran, which took place in the past few hours, is evidence of the baseness and depravity of the Zionist occupiers,” he said.

Kuwait's Electricity Ministry said earlier Monday that an Indian worker was killed and major material damage was caused after an Iranian attack on a service building at a power generation and water desalination plant.

Regional tensions have continued to escalate since Israel and the US launched an offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.