Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul following the US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that his country reserves the right to defend itself because the US has betrayed diplomacy by assisting Israel in its operation against the Islamic Republic.
He described the US strike on nuclear facilities as a “violation of international law,” and stated that Tehran will use any means necessary to preserve its security, interests, and people.
Speaking on diplomacy, Iran’s Foreign Minister stated that now is not the time for diplomacy because the US has betrayed it.
“My country has been attacked, we need to respond…The US has betrayed diplomacy; they only understand the language of threat.
It is irrelevant to ask Iran to return to diplomacy. Attacking a nuke facility itself is an unforgivable violation of law and should be condemned.
“It is an outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the charter of the United Nations and international law,” Abbas Araghchi said.
“The US military attack on the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of a UN member state carried out in collusion with the genocidal [Israeli] regime, has once again revealed the extent of the United States’ hostility towards the peace-seeking people of Iran,” he added.
Asked whether there is still room for diplomacy after the US attack, Araghchi said “not right now”.
“The door for diplomacy should always stay open, but this is not the case right now,” he said. “My country has been under attack, under aggression, and we have to respond based on our legitimate right to self-defence.” The US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he said, “is an unforgivable violation of international law”.
Araghchi elaborated his response on diplomacy, saying that it is “irrelevant” to ask Iran to return to diplomacy.
“We were in the middle of diplomacy. We were in the middle of talks with the United States when Israelis blew it up…And again, we were in the middle of talks and negotiation with Europeans that happened only two days ago in Geneva, when this time, Americans decided to blow it up. So it was not Iran, but the US that betrayed diplomacy. They betrayed negotiations,” he said.
“I think they have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force. And this is very unfortunate.”
The Iranian foreign minister also said that Trump has betrayed not only Iran but his own supporters after attacking Iran today.
“While President Trump was elected on a platform of putting an end to America’s costly involvement in ‘forever wars’ in our part of the world.
He has betrayed not only Iran by abusing our commitment to diplomacy but also deceived his own voters,” said Abbas Araghchi.
In a major escalation of tensions in West Asia, the US bombed three nuclear sites in Iran and warned the Islamic Republic of more “precision strikes” if it did not end its conflict with Israel. The US attacked Iran’s three nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.
This came days after the US president said that there he would decide within ‘two weeks’ if he needs to bomb Iran. The US strike came on the ninth day of Operation Rising Lion, under which Israel hit several nuclear facilities inside Iran, killing top military officials and nuclear scientists.
As America entered the war, Donald Trump said that ‘there will either be peace or tragedy.’ “This cannot continue. There will either be peace or tragedy for Iran, far greater than what we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump told a press briefing at the Oval Office.
