Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that his country is not ready to hold nuclear negotiations with the US as long as the Israeli occupation continues against Iran. "We're not prepared to negotiate with them anymore, as long as the aggression continues," Araghchi said in an exclusive interview with NBC News late Friday following his talks with European diplomats. According to Kuwait News Agency, Araghchi reiterated that his government was ready to negotiate, but the Israeli occupation first had to halt its aerial attacks on Iran. When asked whether a deal with the US could be reached within the two-week time frame recently given by President Donald Trump, Araghchi said it was up to the Trump administration "to show their determination for going for a negotiated solution." He suggested that Washington might not be genuinely interested in diplomacy and had possibly used talks as a "cover" for Israel's air attack. Araghchi expressed skepticism about trusting the US, stating, "So they had per haps this plan in their mind, and they just needed negotiations perhaps to cover it up. We don't know how we can trust them anymore. What they did was, in fact, a betrayal to diplomacy." He firmly stated that Iran would not give up uranium enrichment as Trump has demanded and made this clear to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. "I told him several times zero enrichment is impossible," Araghchi said, emphasizing that every country has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Discussing the communication between the two nations, Araghchi mentioned, "There are some direct messages, some indirect messages we're exchanging. And we have explained each other's positions to each other in order to prevent misunderstandings." However, he clarified that this "doesn't mean negotiation. They have asked us to negotiate, but we negotiate only when it is negotiation and not dictation." He also noted that bombing Iran's nuclear facilities cannot destroy the technical "knowledge" Iran has developed in its nuclear program. Araghchi concluded by stating that if Trump decides to have the United States strike Iran, his government reserves the right to retaliate, as it has done against Israel.
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