‘Cannot trust Americans’: Araghchi says Iran favours diplomatic solution to end war with US
Iranian Foreign MinisterAraghchi accused the US of sending contradictory signals during negotiations and said military action had failed to achieve Washington’s objectives against Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday said Iran has “no trust in Americans” but Tehran still favours diplomacy to resolve tensions, saying that military action had failed to achieve US objectives against Iran.
Addressing a press briefing on West Asia crisis in New Delhi, Araghchi, who is in India to attend Brics summit, said, "After 40 days of war, when the US became hopeless of achieving any goal in their aggression against Iran, they offered negotiation... We have no trust in Americans... This is the main obstacle in the way of any diplomatic effort. We have every reason not to trust Americans, while they have no reason not to trust us."
Araghchi said the negotiations are not only suffering from a lack of trust but also from the contradictory messages coming from the American side.
"Every day is different from yesterday. A tweet today is different from yesterday's... This is the problem, and it adds to the question of mistrust. We know that some spoilers try to derail diplomacy. The warmongers who want to drag the US again into another war. I hope that wisdom and diplomacy will finally prevail, and we go down the line of diplomacy to find a negotiated solution...," said the Iranian foreign minister.
More from WorldDescribing the current ceasefire as “shaky”, he said Iran was committed to preserving it to give negotiations a chance.
"We are now in a state of ceasefire, although it's very shaky. But we are trying to keep it to give diplomacy a chance... There is no military solution to anything related to Iran. They have tested us time and again. We never bow to any pressure or threat... We also resist against any sanction... Iranian people only answer to the language of respect...," he added.
He also accused the US and Israel of carrying out “an act of unprovoked aggression” during active negotiations with Tehran.
"My country has been the victim of an act of unprovoked aggression by the United States and Israeli regime, which happened right in the middle of negotiations we had with Americans... In the middle of diplomacy, they decided to attack us...," Araghchi said.
The Iranian foreign minister thanked countries that condemned the attacks and specifically acknowledged India’s support and humanitarian assistance.
“We appreciate the government and people of India who expressed solidarity and sympathy towards the Iranian people. We appreciate the humanitarian assistance provided to us by the Indian government as a sign of solidarity,” he said.
Araghchi also praised his ties with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, saying the two had remained in contact during the conflict and that Iran attached “great importance” to relations with India.
'Want Strait of Hormuz to remain fully operational'
On Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi said Tehran wanted the Strait of Hormuz to remain fully operational and assured safe passage for commercial vessels, including Indian ships, despite heightened regional tensions.
“On the Strait of Hormuz, this is also our wish, that it be fully reopened,” Araghchi said, adding that the waterway remained accessible to all vessels except those belonging to countries “at war with us and fighting against us”.
He said ships transiting through the strait were required to coordinate with Iranian forces because of existing security challenges in the region.
“Those vessels that want to pass should obviously coordinate with our military because of the obstacles that exist, so we will guide them through, as we have done for a number of Indian vessels. We have helped them pass safely,” he said.
Araghchi maintained that ensuring the secure movement of vessels through the strategic waterway was in Iran’s interest and blamed the current instability on US actions in the region.
“At the same time, we have insecurity in the region because of US aggression. So obviously, the situation is not like it was in the past. But once the aggression ends, I am sure everything will return to normal,” he said.
The Iranian foreign minister also said Tehran was coordinating with Oman to ensure future security and administration of the Strait of Hormuz, noting that Iran and Oman jointly oversee the strategically important passage.
“The Strait is located within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. There are no international waters in between. So everything should be managed by Iran and Oman,” he said, adding that both countries were consulting on “proper arrangements” to guarantee safe passage for all vessels in the future.
With inputs from agencies
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