Iran foreign ministry spokesman: no plans for talks now, focus is on defense

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, that Tehran "has no plans for negotiations at present and is focused on defense." He added that Iran no longer considers itself bound by the June 17 memorandum of understanding with Washington, citing what he called repeated US violations of its commitments.

On the same day, parliament speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf struck a somewhat different note, saying Iran must keep defending itself while also using "diplomacy and negotiations to advance and consolidate national interests," though he stressed Iran has no reason to stay committed to a deal from which it gains nothing.

The remarks came amid a fifth day of US strikes on Iran and the reinstated naval blockade of its ports. In Tehran's open market that day, the free-market US dollar jumped about 2.2 percent to around 188,000 tomans.