Pezeshkian Calls Talks Meaningless as the Bomber Story Splits Washington on Iran

Iran’s president said on Monday that negotiations with the United States are meaningless. Over the same weekend Washington had pulled its B-1 bombers out of a British air base, and by Monday evening Donald Trump, JD Vance and Marco Rubio had given three different accounts of why.

The US has not struck Iran since 1 September, according to AFP. Tankers are still being hit near the Strait of Hormuz.

Pezeshkian rejected talks in public while Araghchi repeated that only negotiations can end the conflict. The vice president linked Iran to the threat at RAF Fairford, the secretary of state declined to, and the president said “we know who made the threat.” No meeting has been scheduled.

Masoud Pezeshkian spoke on Monday, 5 October, in remarks carried by the state news agency IRNA. “So far, they have attacked us three times after talks, and this shows that they are not seeking dialogue; rather, their goal is to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, according to AFP. He added: “With an enemy that every day resorts to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and that breaks its commitments, negotiations are meaningless.”

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whose conditions we covered in Iran’s seven Hormuz conditions, said the same day: “There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions,” and “only negotiations based on justice and fairness” could end the conflict. On 25 September, at the UN General Assembly, he had set out a seven-day plan, as CNBC reported: “If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted.” The conditions, in that reporting, were the end of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, a waiver on oil sanctions and a ceasefire covering Lebanon.

The departure was first covered in our report on the Fairford withdrawal. The Air Force moved at least 12 B-1s out of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over the weekend, and a Pentagon spokesperson said “all U.S. bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” according to NBC News. Two US officials told NBC the move followed reports of a possible Iranian drone attack on the base. The officials could not confirm that any attack was imminent, NBC reported.

Speaking as he left Washington for Alaska, Vance said of the move: “what you saw there is the Secretary of War, out of an abundance of caution, trying to protect our guys.” He went on: “We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are there trying to do what the Iranians have done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism.”

Rubio said it is “not unusual to see rotations happen and movement of assets to different parts of the world,” and would “not directly tie” the aircraft to the plot, ABC News reported. At the White House, Trump said: “We know who made the threat,” and told reporters he could not answer a question on the nature of the threat.

At a campaign event in Nebraska the same day, Trump spoke about the cost of the war. “It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” he said, per CBS Los Angeles. “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” Gavin Newsom, the California governor, called Trump “deranged and dangerous”. The same day Trump described the war as “essentially almost over.”

Pezeshkian gave three attacks “after talks” as his reason for refusing a fourth round. AFP reports that Washington has dialled back military operations since 1 September in favour of economic pressure. The blockade and the oil sanctions that Araghchi lists as his conditions are that pressure.

Rubio said on 29 September that the hands of a foreign actor were involved at the base, without naming Iran. Andy Burnham, the British prime minister, said there were “strong indications that Iran played a part.” Araghchi answered on X that “you’re barking up the wrong tree” and that releasing the suspects on bail “really says it all,” as Türkiye Today reported. Police found no explosives in three vans, only petrol, according to the same report.

On 1 October Trump had said of the foiled Flydubai incident that, “based on what I’m hearing,” the answer on an Iranian link was “yes,” according to CBS News. Vance on Monday said “some confidence.” Rubio would not tie the bombers to the plot at all.

Responsible Statecraft reported on 5 October, citing Kpler data, that flows through the strait are running at 13 to 17 million barrels a day against about 20 million before the war, with crude near $102 a barrel. Rose Kelanic of Defense Priorities told the outlet: “We’re still in this limbo where Iran can’t fully close the strait, but the U.S. can’t fully open it either.” A tanker was struck near the strait on Monday after two more on Sunday, UK Maritime Trade Operations data reported by Iran International show.

Araghchi’s seven-day plan reopens the strait first and resumes nuclear talks on day seven. In Nebraska Trump said of Iran: “They will not have a nuclear weapon. They understand. That’s decided,” as Iran International reported.

Three markers matter. Washington has yet to name a source for the Fairford threat, though Trump says it knows who made it. The Pentagon has not said whether bombers will return to Britain. Araghchi’s seven-day plan has no reported US answer in the coverage reviewed.

Pezeshkian’s refusal and Araghchi’s offer cannot both be Iran’s last word. Whichever one Tehran repeats next shows whether talks are still possible.