SAEDNEWS: Iran is not still convinced that Washington is really determined to restart the nuclear talks with Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, emphasizing the necessity for real intention for the achievement of a win-win solution.
In an interview with CGTN during his stay in China for a recent meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Araqchi outlined the preconditions for the resumption of negotiations about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program following the Israeli and US military attacks against the country’s nuclear facilities.
Asked about the “conflict” in the wake of the Israeli and US strikes on Iran, the foreign minister said, “It is not a conflict. It is an act of aggression by Israel against Iran. Unprovoked aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We had no way but to exercise our right of self-defense. So we defended our country. We defended it in a very courageous way. And we forced the aggressors to stop their aggression and ask for an unconditional ceasefire, which was accepted by us. The ceasefire is, of course, fragile. The reason is obvious. I think there is no ceasefire made by the Israeli regime, and that regime has a very bad record on that. We are very careful. We are fully prepared. If the ceasefire is broken, but this is not our wish. That was not our wish from the beginning. We didn't want this war, but we were prepared for that. We don't want this war to continue, but again, we are fully prepared for that.”
When asked what Iran needs to consider before making a decision about the possibility of restarting the nuclear talks with the United States, Araqchi said, “We are not convinced yet that there is this real determination. At the same time, there should be also a real intention for a win-win solution. Our nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and we are 100% confident on that. And we have no problem to share this confidence to anybody else. And that can happen only through negotiations. And we did it in 2015 when we negotiated with the so-called P5+1 countries. And we came to a deal. We concluded the deal. And the whole world celebrated, if you remember, as an achievement of diplomacy at that time in 2015. And we remain committed to that. Then all of a sudden, the United States decided to withdraw, which was very unfortunate. Everything we saw today is the result of that withdrawal.”
“Is there any possibility to come back to a negotiated deal? I think yes. But it needs, as I said, real serious determination by the US side to put aside military option, go for a negotiated solution. I think the recent attack to our nuclear facilities proved that there is no military option to deal with Iran's nuclear program. There should be only a diplomatic solution. A negotiated solution can work. And we are prepared for that only when they put aside their military ambitions and they are compensating what they have done to us. And then we can re-engage into negotiations,” he added.
Commenting on Iran’s interaction with the SCO, the foreign minister said, “As you said, Iran has joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a full member. We attach great importance to SCO and value its effort to, as I said, find the proper place of countries of the south in international arena. And at the same time, we see many other countries who wish to join this organization, which is good by itself. And we all have a real intention to go to this path and address the security issues, economic issues, even cultural issues of the member states in a different way than the Western countries usually address.”
Asked about Iran’s expectations from the SCO, Araqchi said, “I have to say that we are very grateful to the SCO secretariat and each and every member state who condemned the act of aggression by the Israeli regime and the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly against the nuclear facilities of Iran.”
“As you know, attacking -act of aggression- is by itself a violation of international law against the Charter of the United Nations. But attacking nuclear facilities is even a bigger violation, an unforgivable violation of the international law. It is totally prohibited to attack a nuclear facility which could have disastrous environmental consequences against human beings. So, as I said, we are grateful for SCO member states who condemned that, particularly China. I think it had a very strong position in support and solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran to express their condolences for the people who lost their lives, women and children included. We expect full support, political support, by SCO summit, upcoming support for the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the foreign minister concluded.
