Iran says it is open to talks about concerns about militarization of its nuclear program

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks, as armed forces commander listen, in a ceremony meeting a group of officials, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran said Sunday it would consider negotiations with the United States if the talks were confined to concerns about the militarization of its nuclear program.

In a statement posted on X, the country’s U.N. mission said: “If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.”

A day earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had rejected talks with the U.S., because he said they would be aimed at imposing restrictions on Iran’s missile program and its influence in the region.

Khamenei’s remarks came a day after President Donald Trump acknowledged sending a letter to him seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the nuclear deal he withdrew America from during his first term in office.

Khamenei said U.S. demands would be both military and related to the regional influence of Iran. He said such talks would not solve problems between Iran and the West.

Trump’s overture comes as both Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels — something only done by atomic-armed nations.

Tehran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue the bomb. Tensions are high with the U.S. over its sanctions and with Israel as a shaky ceasefire holds in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Iranian statement Sunday, while allowing for talks on concerns about militarization, stressed that Tehran would not negotiate away what it stresses is its peaceful nuclear program.

“However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place,” Iran’s mission said.

The Associated Press