US says it is ready for Iran nuclear talks but only if they are 'meaningful'

Morgan Ortagus says US is ready for talks but there can be no enrichment inside Iran

The UN Security Council meeting in New York. AFP

The US and Iran traded barbs at the UN Security Council on Tuesday over conditions for reviving nuclear ⁠talks, with the US saying it remains ​ready for direct negotiations but Iran rejecting Washington's terms.

The ​two countries held five rounds of nuclear ‌talks before a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, which Washington joined by ​striking Iranian nuclear sites.

The talks faced major stumbling blocks, notably over uranium enrichment on Iranian soil – a practice western powers want eliminated to minimise the risk of weaponisation, but which Tehran has ‌firmly rejected.

“The United States remains available for formal talks with Iran, but only if ‍Tehran is prepared for direct ‍and meaningful dialogue,” Trump's deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus told the Security Council.

“We have been clear, however, about certain expectations for any arrangement. Foremost, there can be no enrichment inside of Iran, and that remains our principle.”

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the meeting the US was not pursuing fair negotiation by insisting on a zero enrichment policy.

“We appreciate any fair and meaningful negotiation, but insisting on zero enrichment policy, it is contrary to our rights as a member of the NPT, and it means that they are not pursuing the fair negotiation,” he said, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

“They want to dictate their predetermined intention on Iran. Iran will not bow down to any pressure and intimidation.”

The United Nations ⁠reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over ​its nuclear programme in late ‍September, following a process – known as snapback – triggered by European powers. Russia and China disputed the move.

Britain, France and ⁠Germany initiated ‌the snapback process at the Security Council over accusations Iran had violated a 2015 deal aimed ⁠at stopping it from developing a nuclear bomb.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons ⁠and says its motives are peaceful.

The 2015 nuclear deal is enshrined in a Security Council resolution adopted the same year. The 15-member council has met twice a year since then to discuss implementation of the resolution.