Khamenei has banned Iranian officials from holding such talks unless the United States returns to the nuclear deal and lifts all sanctions. Relations between the two countries have reached a crisis over the past year after U.S.
President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 pact between Iran and world powers under which Tehran accepted curbs to its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions. In response, Iran reduced some of the commitments in the deal, raising the uranium enrichment limit to 3.67%.
