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Foreign Minister for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, spoke to a reporter and answered questions in relation to the latest situation in and around Iran.
Araghchi said: “If they want to find a resolution for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, the only way is diplomacy, we have proved this in the past, and I believe that still there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution, which is based on a win-win game, and a solution is in our reach.
“There is no need for any military buildup, and military buildup cannot help it and cannot pressure us,” Araghchi added.
Araghchi said that Iran were still working on the draft proposal and were trying to make something that would consist of elements which can accommodate both sides’ concerns and interests.
“We are working on those elements, and I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal – this is my understanding, I see it being quite possible.”
Following this, the reporter wanted to clarify whether a meeting had been confirmed in Geneva with Witkoff for Thursday, even though the Iranian leadership still hadn’t signed off on the proposal.
Araghchi said these were two separate things: “Of course, we continue our negotiation, at the same time, we are working on the elements of a deal and a draft of the text, so I hope that when we get there, we are prepared to talk and negotiate on those drafts.”
Continuing, Araghchi stated: “10 years have passed since the JCPOA, and there is a new situation – our nuclear program has advanced technologically, more advanced at that time, and there are more sanctions and pressure.
“I believe that a better deal than the JCPOA, or 2015 nuclear deal, is possible, and there are elements that could be much better than the previous deal – we can agree on basic things, and we can make sure that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and will remain peaceful forever, and at the same time, more sanctions would be lifted,” Araghchi noted.
When asked whether there was any talks other than the nuclear program, Araghchi confirmed that Iran were only negotiating the nuclear option and there was no other subject.
“We are a committed member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and we have a safeguard agreement with the agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and we are ready to cooperate with the agency in full, according to the safeguard,” Araghchi said.
The Minister continued: “We may accept, under certain conditions, the additional protocol to safeguard the NPT, and I think a full verification mechanism, a full monitoring mechanism, is acceptable and can be in place.”
However, Araghchi argued: “Enrichment is our right – we are a member of the NPT, and we have every right to enjoy peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment.
“How we use this right is something related to us only – the enrichment is a sensitive part of our negotiation, [but] the American team knows our position, we know their position, and we have already exchanged concerns – I think a solution is achievable, but I’m not going to negotiate through media.”
When asked whether demanding the right to enrich on Iranian soil was really worth a risk right now, Araghchi replied: “I think as a sovereign country, we have every right to decide for ourselves, by ourselves – we have developed this technology by ourselves, by our scientists, and it’s very dear to us because we have paid a huge expense for that.
“We have been under sanctions for at least 20 years, we have lost our scientists, and we have had a war because of that – so that is now a matter of dignity and pride for Iranians and we are not going to give it up – we are a committed member of the NPT, we want to use our right, we want to have our right and to exercise that.”
Speaking about possible reactions to US military actions, Araghchi said: “I’m not going to say what we are going to do exactly, but obviously, we defend ourselves.
“If the US attacks us, that is an act of aggression – what we do in response is the act of self-defence – and it is justifiable and legitimate.”
Araghchi noted: “Our missiles cannot hit American soil, so obviously, we have to do something else, we have to hit the Americans’ base in the region – that is a fact.
“I am a diplomat – I’m not supposed to talk about our military plans, but what I can say is, why should we go for war when there is every possibility for a peaceful solution?”
Concluding, Araghchi commented on the 12-day war, noting that: “Yes, we had problems with our air defence, but Israelis also had problems with their air defence – our missiles were able to hit targets inside Israel.
“They started the war, but after 12 days, they asked for a ceasefire, an unconditional ceasefire, why? Because they couldn’t defend themselves against our missiles.
“We are even in a better situation than the previous war, we are in a powerful position to defend ourselves, we know how to defend ourselves, because we did it in the 12-day war, and we are fully prepared to repeat that if necessary.”
