Iran FM Says Agreed with US to Hold Next Round of Talks ‘Soon’

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on as he speaks during the 17th edition of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on February 7, 2026. (AFP)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on as he speaks during the 17th edition of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on February 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran FM Says Agreed with US to Hold Next Round of Talks ‘Soon’

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on as he speaks during the 17th edition of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on February 7, 2026. (AFP)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on as he speaks during the 17th edition of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on February 7, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's foreign minister said a fresh round of talks with Washington would take place "soon", while insisting that enrichment was Tehran's "inalienable right" and building trust would take time. 

Abbas Araghchi said the first round of talks in Oman on Friday had been a "good start". 

"(Nuclear) Enrichment is our inalienable right and must continue. Even with bombing they could not destroy our capabilities," Araghchi said, according to excerpts published in Persian on his official Telegram channel of an interview with the Al Jazeera network. 

"We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment," he added during the interview, which was later released in parts by Al Jazeera with Arabic dubbing. 

"The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations." 

Araghchi's remarks came a day after renewed nuclear talks in Muscat with Washington, which has deployed an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following Iran's deadly response to anti-government protests. 

Friday's negotiations were the first since nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States collapsed last year following Israel's unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which triggered a 12-day war. 

During the war US warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear sites. 

Araghchi called Friday's talks "a good start", but insisted that "there is a long way to go to build trust". 

He warned that Iran "will attack their (US) bases in the region" if Washington targets Iranian territory. 

He said the discussions in Muscat were "indirect", via Omani mediation, but said that there was "an opportunity" for a handshake with the US delegation. 

The two sides had agreed to hold another round of talks "soon", but the date has yet to be determined, Araghchi said. 

He said Iran's missile program was "never negotiable" because it relates to a "defense issue". 

The United States has sought to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks, according to media reports. 

Tehran has repeatedly rejected expanding the scope of the negotiations beyond the nuclear issue. 

Araghchi also criticized what he said was a "doctrine of domination" that allows Israel to expand its military arsenal while pressuring other countries in the region to disarm. 

"Israel's expansionist project requires that neighboring countries be weakened: militarily, technologically, economically and socially," Araghchi said.  

"Under this project Israel is free to expand its military arsenal without limits ... Yet other countries are demanded to disarm. Others are pressured to reduce defensive capacity. Others are punished for scientific progress," he added.  

"This is a doctrine of domination." 



Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
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Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used.

Khamenei called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” US bases, saying promised US protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump has promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of the war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon.

“One point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy,” Khamenei said.

“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.”

 

 

 

 


Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Russia condemned on Thursday what it called blackmail and threats by US President Donald Trump to initiate a "takeover" of Cuba, a traditional ally of Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would provide all possible political and diplomatic support to Cuba and called for a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Washington, Reuters reported.

Trump said on Monday that Cuba was in "deep trouble" and that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue, which may or may not be a "friendly takeover."


Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices, Reuters reported.

"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.