News- Middle East: Iran’s foreign ministry says the United States must first prove its genuine commitment to diplomacy if Washington seeks further negotiations with Tehran on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

In an interview with the UK-based Sky News television news channel aired on Thursday, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stressed that the White House must first prove its genuine commitment to a diplomatic path before any potential resumption of the halted nuclear talks between Iran and the US.

“They (the Americans) must truly demonstrate their adherence to diplomacy. Diplomacy should not be misused or turned into a tool for deception or psychological warfare against their adversaries,” he said.

Asked whether Tehran and Washington would resume talks, Baghaei said, “I know there have been indirect contacts. Our Foreign Minister [Abbas Araghchi] is in talks with Oman, Qatar, and other countries, and as I said, diplomacy never stops.”

Since April, Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of Oman-mediated indirect negotiations in Rome and Muscat over Iran’s nuclear program amid repeated shifts in US stances, which have prompted Iranian officials to criticize the “contradictory” statements made by their American counterparts.

The talks, however, stopped after Israel launched military aggression on June 13 that lasted for 12 days, during which Iran’s armed forces retailed the aggression with crushing ballistic missile attacks against Tel Aviv and Haifa and other parts of the occupying entity.

More than a week into the war, the US ultimately chose to formally and directly enter the conflict with direct intervention, as the Israeli regime was facing serious setbacks in the war.

In the early hours of June 22, the US launched unlawful strikes against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, in a clear violation of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“First of all, we must understand what happened. What occurred was a clear act of aggression by Israel and then by the United States against our territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” Baghaei said.

“During the twelve days, an unprovoked assault was launched against the Iranian nation. In this aggression, many Iranians - close to a thousand - lost their lives in this brutal act of war imposed on our country,” he added.

The American aggression has also cast the US’s intentions in further doubt, prompting Iranian officials to dismiss excessive reliance on the talks and ask why Washington would resort to military aggression against the country if it had truly given diplomacy a chance.

“Our nuclear facilities were severely damaged. But the point is that our nuclear sites have been under the strictest inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Baghaei said, warning against any further adventurous aggression by the Zionist regime.

“I assure you, our armed forces are prepared for any such adventure,” Baghaei stressed.

He said that during the 12-day war, Iran strongly responded to Israeli and US aggression, stressing that the Islamic Republic will respond to any act of aggression.

“We proved our resolve to defend our nation and our dignity with full force.”

Source: Press TV