Tehran will not directly negotiate with the United States over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling talks with the US “a sheer dead end”, as diplomatic parleys are conducted on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “The US has announced the result of the talks in advance,” Khamenei said in his recorded address. Iran has repeatedly denied pursuing nuclear weapons, but affirmed its right to peacefully pursue nuclear energy. The Israeli-US bombing came a day after the UN’s nuclear watchdog board ruled that Iran was not respecting international nuclear safeguards. The UNSC voted last week not to permanently lift economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, delivering a major economic blow that Tehran claimed was “politically biased”.