Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country does not accept a comprehensive agreement, noting that Iran is ready to hold talks about its nuclear program if it serves the people’s interests.
“Iran has not held negotiations or exchanged messages with the United States concerning Gaza,” the FM said in a televised interview on Saturday night.
He also dismissed reports of any contact with US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff to discuss Iran’s support for a truce in the Strip.
The FM then expressed doubts about the ceasefire in Gaza and said Israel's repeated breaches of a ceasefire in Lebanon, in place since last November, indicated Israel was unlikely to adhere to the Gaza truce plan.
Araghchi then rejected remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said Iran might join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.
In late September, Trump said: “Who knows, maybe even Iran can get in there,” referring to the Abraham Accords.
Last Thursday, the US President said Iran is seeking to work on a broader Middle East peace deal after lending its support to his plan to bring a ceasefire to the Gaza Strip.
The FM said the agreement has no alignment with the ideals of the Iranian Revolution or the Iranian nation; therefore, “such an event will never happen.”
Addressing Trump’s remarks that Iran’s support for his Gaza peace plan shows it wants peace, Araghchi said, “Trump’s interpretation of the foreign ministry’s statement is his own concern. We're not afraid of saying it, we supported parts of this plan, that’s all.”
He also said “We have always firmly stated that Iran’s negotiations are solely on the nuclear issue, and we have never negotiated with Americans or any other party on any other matter.”
The FM added that Washington and Tehran exchange messages through intermediary countries.
Iran’s top diplomat then spoke about the message Witkoff sent to Tehran, calling on the Iranian Republic to attend direct talks in New York.
“Our response was that we were ready, provided the European countries also joined. So, we said we are ready to negotiate around one table; we set the condition, but he did not attend. Witkoff insisted that before negotiations start, we accept their condition, which we did not,” the FM said.
Araghchi stressed that if the Americans want to return to negotiations, their proposals should be reasonable, balanced and based on mutual interests.
“We will not give up Iran’s enrichment rights, but if they want clarification, we are ready to examine it. If the other side respects our rights and presents proposals based on a balanced formula, we will review them.”
Regarding the US position on the snapback, Araghchi said, “Washington suggested that if Iran handed over the 60% enriched material, they would postpone the snapback for six months. This was an excessive demand, and that’s why the New York negotiations did not succeed.”
On Friday, the leaders of the UK, France and Germany affirmed they are determined to reinitiate negotiations with Iran and the United States towards a comprehensive, durable and verifiable agreement that ensures Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
“We agree that it was right that the snapback mechanism had been triggered. Iran’s nuclear program poses a serious threat to global peace and security,” the three European countries said.
In response to the E3 calls, Araghchi said, “We see no grounds for negotiation with these three countries now, and the concept of ‘the troika’ is not relevant to us. We deal with European countries and manage our relations with them based on Iran’s interests.”
Referring to the Cairo agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he noted, “The Cairo agreement is currently suspended. The reason we reached an agreement with the Agency was due to changes on the ground. With the actions of the three European countries, this agreement has lost its effectiveness. Any request from the Agency will go to the Supreme National Security Council according to law, and decisions will be made.”
Russian Mediation
Araghchi also said that Iran had received a message relayed by Russia indicating that Israel did not want any new confrontation with his country.
“Apparently, three or four days ago, there was a telephone call between Netanyahu and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” he said.
“Netanyahu emphasized that he had no intention of restarting a war with Iran,” Araghchi said. He noted that the message was relayed to Tehran’s ambassador in Russia.
