Iran favors diplomacy to resolve nuclear standoff: Araghchi
US not eager to engage in ‘equal and fair’ talks despite new requests
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Iran’s nuclear issue has no military solution and should be resolved through diplomacy but the United States’ current behavior does not reflect a willingness to engage in “equal and fair” negotiations.
“Requests for negotiations have now resumed, which is natural, since they (Israel and the US) did not achieve their goals regarding Iran’s nuclear program through military action. This is exactly what we have always said. Iran’s nuclear issue has no military solution. They tried it and realized it is not the right path,” Abbas Araghchi told an international conference, entitled “International Law Under Attack: Aggression and Defense”, which was held in Tehran, according to IRNA.
Back in June, Israel waged a war on Iran amid nuclear talks with the US, during which more than 1,000 Iranians including ordinary people, military commanders and nuclear scientists were killed. The US later joined the aggression by targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Since then, attempts at renewing talks on Tehran’s nuclear program have failed due to the US’s excessive demands.
Araghchi said that the first step in diplomacy is to recognize that “dialogue differs from dictation and coercion,” reiterating that negotiations should be grounded in reason and logic and conducted seriously.
However, he said Washington’s current approach toward Tehran does not indicate any readiness for “equal and fair” talks.
Diplomacy first victim of 12-day war
The top diplomat said Israel launched the assault before the sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks in Muscat, against the possibility of reaching an agreement through peaceful means.
“The truth is that when the Israeli regime attacked Iran on June 13, under the order and guidance of the US president, the first bombs were fired at the negotiating table between Iran and the United States — negotiations of which five rounds had been held, with the sixth round slated for two days later, the 15th of June,” he stated. “Diplomacy was the first victim of the 12-day war.”
Iran not enriching uranium
In response to a question about the existence of undeclared nuclear facilities in Iran on the sidelines of the conference, Araghchi said there are “no undeclared nuclear enrichment facilities” in Iran, adding that all of Iran’s nuclear facilities are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He said that Iran is not currently enriching uranium due to the Israeli and US strikes on the enrichment facilities.
“Our message is clear: Iran’s right to enrichment and to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including enrichment, is undeniable. Iran has this right and will continue its efforts to exercise it.”
The minister also pointed to the US administration’s warmongering policies across the world, censuring it for initiating an arms race across the world by its naked use of force and violations of international law.
Araghchi said that there is no choice but to grow strong in the “jungle” created by the United States.
He said that US President Donald Trump came to the White House with the doctrine of “peace through strength,” which turned out to be a code for “hegemony through force.”
The top diplomat also noted that the manifesto of a hegemonic America, which is “a return to the law of the jungle,” includes the renaming of the US Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of War and the testing of nuclear weapons.
“A president who styles himself as the president of peace arbitrarily attacks wherever he pleases without reason or justification, orders the evacuation of cities, demands unconditional surrender, and violates and rips up all international laws, even the commitments of his predecessors,” he added.
Israel’s geopolitical ambitions
Araghchi also described Israel as an agent and appendage of the US in West Asia, warning that the regime pursues its boundless and dangerous geopolitical ambitions by attacking the most fundamental principles of international law.
He warned that no country in West Asia is safe from Israel’s military and security aspirations as the regime has attacked seven countries in the past two years, and occupied new areas in the region in addition to Palestine.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in 2023, the regime has also launched attacks on several regional countries including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.