US can ‘forget about’ holding talks with Iran: Official

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali

TEHRAN (AA) - An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday said Washington should “forget about” holding talks with Tehran with a view to securing a new nuclear deal.

In a statement, Bahram Qassemi advised U.S. officials -- especially President Donald Trump -- to “forget about” holding “one-sided” talks with Iran “under the shadow of threats”.

“The U.S. must understand that the modern world no longer has any place for hegemony, bullying and unilateralism,” he said.

Nikki Haley, Washington’s ambassador to the UN, said Tuesday that the US administration was ready to negotiate a new deal to replace the landmark 2015 agreement.

Tension has steadily mounted between the two countries since May, when Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group of nations (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).

Earlier this week, Trump -- addressing Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani -- tweeted: “Never, ever threaten the U.S. again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered.”

Upping the ante, Iranian Military Chief-of-Staff Mohammad Bakiri responded by noting that all U.S. military bases in the region were “within range” of a potential Iranian attack.