Araghchi: Tehran ready for dialogue based on credible guarantees
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran will not accept coercion, threats or intimidation and will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure but he said Tehran remained ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and credible guarantees.
Speaking at the 52nd session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Baghdad, Araghchi said the peoples of the region shared both a common region and a common future, and faced a straightforward choice: “We either build security together or endure insecurity together.”
Iran had remained steadfast in its commitment to international law, the United Nations Charter and diplomacy, Araghchi said, adding that Tehran had continued to pursue diplomatic efforts over the past two years to resolve differences with the United States.
However, he said the US has chosen the opposite path, resorting to aggression, threats, assassinations and economic warfare in blatant disregard for international law and the UN Charter.
Araghchi accused the US and Israel of gross violations of international law by killing around 5,000 people, including Iran’s Leader and senior political and military officials during their military aggression against Iran, which began on February 28.
“The deaths of more than 160 students and teachers in Minab, a cluster-bomb attack on a sports stadium in Lamerd, the bombing of a desalination plant on Qeshm Island and an attack on a wedding ceremony in Kouhestak, in Sirik, were among documented examples of US-Israeli war crimes against Iran”.
Washington and Israel could not cover up these crimes by distorting the truth and turning victims into aggressors, Araghchi said.
Calls for OIC reaction
He called on all OIC members to take a firm stand against attacks on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one of the organization’s founding members.
The Iranian foreign minister underlined that Iran would defend its people, sovereignty and legitimate interests but there is no contradiction between defending its rights and pursuing peace.
Tehran understands the damage caused by war and values peace precisely for that reason, he added.
Araghchi also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to safe and secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to energy supplies and trade for many OIC member states. The strait had remained fully open and secure until February 28, 2026, he said.
The Iranian foreign minister underlined that insecurity and disruption to maritime traffic has been a direct result of acts of aggression by the United States and Israel.
Security could not be restored by repeating past mistakes and crimes, Araghchi said. A country could not be bombed, threatened with annihilation and placed under blockade, then be expected to see maritime security return to normal, he added.
The closed the waterway after the US and Israel lunched their joint aggression against Iran in February.
The strait remains closed, and Iran has made clear that it will not allow its reopening until the US fulfills its commitments under the Islamabad understanding which signed between the two countries to end the war.
The Islamabad agreement was aimed at ending the war, but Washington soon violated the agreement by failing to respect Iran’s arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz.