Araghchi: Tehran not to resume negotiations unless own rights secured
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that it is the Islamic Republic that will determine when, under what conditions, and in what manner will return to the negotiating table with the US.
“Our purpose in negotiations is nothing other than to secure the rights and interests of the Iranian people; whenever we feel that these interests can be secured, we will engage in negotiations, and when no such benefit exists, it is natural that we will not go ahead with it,” the Iranian foreign minister said in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran.
“Our enemies, the Americans and the Zionist regime, tried a military attack, and it became clear that they could not break the will and resistance of the Iranian people in this way, and they could not stop Iran's nuclear program. Therefore, there is no solution other than a negotiated solution,” he added.
The Iranian top diplomat noted that science and technology cannot be wiped out by bombing.
The Israeli regime launched an aggression on Iran’s military and civilian infrastructure on June 13 that killed nearly 1,100 people, including women and children, as well as a dozen top military brass.
The US, which had been in talks with Tehran about its nuclear program since April, joined the war on June 22 by targeting several key nuclear sites. Iran struck a major US military base in Qatar in retaliation.
In response to the strikes, the Iranian Armed Forces launched a retaliatory campaign against the Israeli regime by targeting key military, intelligence, industrial, energy facilities across the occupied territories. The Iranian Armed Forces also targeted the US largest military base in the Middle East in Qatar with a barrage of missiles.
Following Iran’s retaliatory attacks, the Israeli regime was forced on June 24 to declare a unilateral halt to its aggression, which was announced on its behalf by US President Donald Trump.
During his meeting with foreign diplomats, Araghchi said that Tehran is "ready" for diplomacy to resolve Iran’s nuclear issue.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran remains ready to build confidence through diplomacy but, before that, other sides must first instill confidence in us that they genuinely seek diplomacy — not that diplomacy serves as a cover for their own objectives," Araghchi said.
Araghchi underlined that there is no other way but to return to diplomacy and a negotiated solution to resolve the issue, adding that the recent conflict proved this even more.
"As you know, we were negotiating (with the US) when Israel attacked Iran with the coordination of the United States and in the next stage, the United States itself directly targeted Iran's nuclear facilities. The Americans betrayed diplomacy and the negotiating table, and if they are now seeking to resume negotiations, it must be ensured that such a thing will not happen again and we will not witness such actions from them."