“Iran remains interested in diplomacy, but we have good reason to have doubts about further dialogue,” Abbas Araghchi wrote in an article published by the Financial Times. “If there is a desire to resolve this amicably, the US should show genuine readiness for an equitable accord.”
The foreign minister referred to his five rounds of talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, saying that the two sides had made progress in those meetings.
According to Araghchi, discussions covered sensitive issues, including Iran’s uranium enrichment program and a potential end to US sanctions, with proposals from both sides and mediation by Oman.
The talks, he suggested, could have laid the foundation for an economic partnership potentially worth trillions, offering Iran development opportunities while addressing US President Donald Trump’s ambitions to revive struggling US industries.
But, Araghchi said, hopes for a breakthrough were shattered when Israel launched an unprovoked assault on Iran just 48 hours before a planned sixth round of talks in a move to derail diplomatic progress.
“Israel prefers conflict over resolution,” he wrote, arguing that the bombardment was not about stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons but about sabotaging dialogue.
Araghchi reaffirmed that Iran remains committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and operates under UN monitoring.
He warned that while Iran seeks to prevent a wider regional war, its restraint should not be mistaken for weakness.
“We will defeat any future attack on our people,” he said, cautioning that Iran would reveal its true defensive capabilities if provoked again.
Araghchi placed the blame for the collapse of the talks on "an ostensible ally of America" and on Washington for its “fateful decision” to join in the strikes, thereby violating international law and the NPT framework.
While noting recent messages from US intermediaries suggesting a possible return to the table, Araghchi questioned whether Tehran could trust any future American overtures, citing the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and Iran’s experience of being attacked during active negotiations.
“Negotiations held under the shadow of war are inherently unstable, and dialogue pursued amid threats is never genuine," he wrote.
Still, Araghchi stopped short of closing the door entirely. Iran, he insisted, remains interested in diplomacy, but only if it is based on mutual respect and free from external sabotage.
The top diplomat warned that Washington's continued alignment with Israel risks dragging the US into another costly and avoidable conflict in the region.
“The American people deserve to know that their country is being pushed towards a wholly avoidable and unwarranted war by a foreign regime that does not share their interests,” Araghchi wrote, in reference to Israeli influence in Washington.
He ended with a stark choice for the United States: “Will the US finally choose diplomacy? Or will it remain ensnared in someone else’s war?”