Larijani: "We will not negotiate with the United States" — rejects Trump's claim Iran wants talks

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, posted on X (formerly Twitter) at 9:47 AM IST (04:17 UTC) on March 2, 2026: "We will not negotiate with the United States." In a follow-up post, Larijani wrote that President Trump's "wishful thinking" had dragged the region into an unnecessary war. Context: This directly contradicts Trump, who in an interview with The Atlantic said: "They want to talk and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long." Analysis: • Larijani is a powerful conservative figure — Secretary of the SNSC is arguably the most influential security role after the Supreme Leader. • His public rejection suggests the hardline faction (backed by IRGC remnant leadership and Mohseni-Ejei on the interim council) is overriding any diplomatic signals from reformist President Pezeshkian. • The Omani FM's backchannel efforts from March 1 now appear undercut. • A US official had told Al Jazeera on March 1 that the conflict would "last for weeks, not just days" — Larijani's statement confirms there is no near-term diplomatic off-ramp.