Iran’s Araghchi rules out open negotiations at Carnegie nuclear event

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran has no intention of holding public negotiations.

“When I agreed to present a keynote address before the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program, Iran and the U.S. had not yet set dates for the next round of talks, which begin at the expert level on Wednesday and at the principals' level on Saturday,” Araghchi said, per Caliber.Az.

The Iranian top diplomat said his address also clarifies that certain Special Interest groups "are labouring to manipulate the course of diplomacy by smearing negotiators and goading the U.S. administration into making maximalist demands."

"I am accustomed to tough questions from journalists and ordinary concerned citizens alike. But turning my keynote address into an open Q&A would either turn the event into a public negotiation, which I am not willing to countenance, or be unsatisfactory for an audience probably looking for details on where the talks might go. I regret that my intended host was neither cognizant nor considerate of these sensitive dynamics.

Those who are interested in what I planned to say are welcome to read my speech, shared below in full,” Araghchi added.

​The 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference takes place on April 21–22, 2025, in Washington, DC. This biennial event, organised by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has been a cornerstone in the field for over 30 years, bringing together global experts, officials, academics, and students to address pressing issues in nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, disarmament, deterrence, energy, and security.​

By Khagan Isayev