Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that he still believes there’s a “good chance” for a deal with the US despite the Trump administration’s threats of attacking the Islamic Republic amid a major US military buildup in the region.
Araghchi was asked by CBS News host Margaret Brennan if he expected the US to strike or if President Trump was just using the buildup as leverage. “I cannot judge. But one fact is there that if they want to find a resolution for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, the only way is diplomacy,” he said.
“And 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 at our reach. So there is no need for any military buildup. And military buildup cannot help it, and cannot pressurize us,” Araghchi added.
The Iranian diplomat said that Iran was still working on a proposal it planned to send to the US in the coming days and that there would be another round of negotiations with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva this Thursday, which was later confirmed by the US and Oman, the mediating country.
US officials continue to demand that any deal must involve zero Iranian uranium enrichment, a condition Iran has made clear it will not accept, something Araghchi reaffirmed in the interview.
“Well, first of all, enrichment is our right. We are a member of the [Non-Proliferation Treaty], and we have every right to enjoy peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment. How we use this- this right is something you know is related to us only,” he said.
“The enrichment is a sensitive part of our negotiation. The American team know our position, we know their position, and we have already exchanged our concerns, and I think a solution is achievable, but I’m not going to negotiate through media,” he added.
Araghchi also addressed Iran’s warnings that if the US attacks, US military bases in the region will be targeted with Iranian missiles. “If the US attacks us, that is the act of aggression. What we do in response is the act of self-defense. So It is justifiable and legitimate. So our missiles cannot hit American soil. So obviously, we have to do something else. We have to hit, you know, the Americans’ base in the region. That is a fact,” he said.
Araghchi added that war wasn’t necessary since a deal was possible. “I am a diplomat. I’m not supposed to talk about, you know, our military plans, but what can I say is that why we should go for war when there is every possibility for a peaceful solution?” he said.
