Iran rejects U.S. nuclear negotiations offer

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday flatly turned down the United States’ request for continued negotiations on a nuclear deal. He also said U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on Israeli military actions prove that the United States is already involved, according to the privately owned, U.K.-based Iran International news outlet. There is no room for negotiations until Israeli attacks end, Araghchi said, according to Israeli outlet Ynet News.

Araghchi on Friday also spoke to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. He said Iran was responding in self-defense to Israeli attacks that began a week ago. He urged the council to condemn Israel’s offensive as a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, according to the Tehran Times. Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign ministry criticized the council for listening to a representative of a regime it said oppresses minorities and women.

How did the United States respond to Araghchi? State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce in a Friday briefing reiterated a Thursday statement from Trump, saying the president would decide whether to strike Iran in the next two weeks. Iran should not attack U.S. interests or personnel and would face dire consequences for doing so, Bruce said.

When did the United States ask for continued negotiations? White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Iranian and American officials were communicating about the possibility of negotiations between the two countries. Leavitt didn’t specify whether the two sides were talking directly or through an intermediary. The talks appeared to be a new development since Tuesday, when Trump said he hadn’t reached out to Iran.

But Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Thursday that Iran had not sent any messages to the United States since Israel began its attacks on his country, according to a BBC interview.

Dig deeper: Read my earlier report on the United States’ offer to Iran.