Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told the Financial Times that Iran wants compensation from the US for damages incurred during the 12-Day War and guarantees that it won’t be attacked again before resuming nuclear negotiations.
“They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of … negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that [during future talks],” Araghchi said. “And they have to compensate [Iran for] the damage that they have done.”
The Iranian diplomat didn’t specify what sort of compensation Iran was seeking, but the US does have the ability to release billions in frozen Iranian funds. It’s unlikely that the Trump administration would go for anything like that since it has been imposing fresh sanctions on Iran, continuing the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign.
Araghchi said that “anti-negotiation feelings” were very high within Iran since Israel launched the war under the cover of previous US-Iran talks. “People are telling me, ‘Don’t waste your time anymore, don’t be cheated by them … if they come to negotiations it’s only a cover-up for their other intentions,” he said.
While the US and Iran haven’t engaged in talks since the war, Araghchi said he has exchanged messages with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Araghchi said that his message to Witkoff has been that there needs to be a “win-win” deal and that the US needs to show real “confidence-building” measures.
“The road to negotiation is narrow but it’s not impossible. I need to convince my hierarchy that if we go for negotiation, the other side is coming with real determination for a win-win deal,” he said.
The US has also shown no sign that it’s willing to give Iran assurances that it won’t be attacked again, since President Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb the country again if it restarts its nuclear enrichment program. Araghchi reaffirmed that Tehran wouldn’t agree to a deal that doesn’t allow it to enrich uranium at low levels.
“We can negotiate, they can present their argument and we will present our own argument,” Araghchi said. “But with zero enrichment, we don’t have a thing,” Araghchi.
He also reaffirmed that Iran didn’t want a nuclear bomb and would continue to abide by a 2003 fatwa from the Iranian Supreme Leader that prohibited the production of nuclear weapons.
