Monday, 02/03/2026   
   Beirut 16:31

Iran Rejects Talks with US, Ceasefire Offer

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council as he attends funeral of martyred Hezbollah Secretary Generals Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine in Beirut (February 23, 2025).

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, firmly rejected any negotiations with Washington on Monday, contradicting claims made by US President Donald Trump.

“We will not negotiate with the US,” Larijani wrote on X, directly disputing Trump’s remarks in an interview with The Atlantic in which the US president said Iran’s new leadership “wants to talk” and that he had agreed to dialogue.

Larijani’s statement also pushed back against a report by The Wall Street Journal claiming he had been involved in efforts to resume talks via Omani intermediaries.

In a separate post, Larijani accused Trump of transforming his “America First” doctrine into “Israel First,” writing that the US president was sacrificing American soldiers to serve Israeli regional ambitions.

“With delusional actions and new lies, Trump is once again making US soldiers and their families pay the price for his personality cult,” he wrote, stressing that Iran “has not started the invasion” and is acting in self-defense.

Earlier on Sunday, Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a source as saying that an American official conveyed an even more immediate proposal.

“Through a mediator, apparently Italy, he suggested reaching a ceasefire agreement today or tomorrow. Iran rejected the idea outright.”

Source: Websites (edited by Al-Manar)