US, not Iran, betrayed diplomacy: Araghchi

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States of betraying diplomacy after it joined Israel in its air campaign against his country.

Abbas Araghchi spoke in Istanbul, where he attended a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports.

Asked what the conditions would be for Iran to come back to the negotiations after the US attack, the Iranian foreign minister said it is “irrelevant” to ask Iran to return to diplomacy.

“We were in the middle of diplomacy. We were in the middle of talks with the United States when Israelis blew it up,” Araghchi said.

“And again, we were in the middle of talks and negotiation with Europeans [that] happened only two days ago in Geneva, when this time, Americans decided to blow it up.

“So it was not Iran, but the US who betrayed diplomacy. They betrayed negotiations,” he said.

“I think they have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force. And this is very unfortunate.”

Iran to respond based on legitimate right to self defence

Asked whether there is still room for diplomacy after the US attack, Araghchi said “not right now”.

“The door for diplomacy should always stay open, but this is not the case right now,” the Iranian foreign minister said. “My country has been under attack, under aggression, and we have to respond based on our legitimate right to self defence.”

The US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he said, “is an unforgivable violation of international law”.

Araghchi accuses Trump of ‘betraying US voters’

The Iranian foreign minister says Trump has betrayed not only Iran but his own supporters as a result of today’s US attacks.

“While President Trump was elected on a platform of putting an end to America’s costly involvement in ‘forever wars’ in our part of the world,” he said.

“He has betrayed not only Iran by abusing our commitment to diplomacy but also deceived his own voters by submitting to the wishes of a wanted war criminal who has grown accustomed to exploiting the lives and wealth of American citizens to further the Israeli regime’s objectives,” said Araghchi, referring to Netanyahu.

The minister added, “it could not be emphasised enough how much of a devastating blow” the US has dealt to the global non-proliferation regime, demanding international institutions and bodies “of their duty and responsibility to take urgent and decisive action in response to this breach of international law”.

“Silence in the face of such blatant aggression will plunge the world into unprecedented level of danger and chaos. Humanity has come too far as a species to allow a lawless bully to take us back to the law of the jungle,” he said.

He warned that following its attacks, the US administration holds sole and full responsibility for the consequences of its actions, including Iran’s right to self-defence, and said his country “reserves all options to defend its security interests and people”.

Araghchi says he’s heading to Russia for ‘serious consultations’ with Putin

The Iranian foreign minister says he will fly to Moscow the same day and have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

“Russia is a friend of Iran and we enjoy a strategic partnership,” he told the news conference in Istanbul.

“We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” Araghchi said, noting that Russia was one of the signatories of the JCPOA.

“I will have serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow and we continue to work with each other.”

Araghchi hints at regional efforts to prevent Israeli attacks

In response to a question about a potential Turkish mediation to end hostilities, the Iranian foreign minister said he had “very productive meetings” with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I also had conversations with [diplomats of] other countries in the region. Some of the countries … such as Turkey are indicating they could mediate so attacks from Israel can stop,” he told reporters.

“I do believe that I’m going to start some actions and discussions … to prevent this American aggression.”

But Abbas Araghchi indicated a military response is inevitable. “My country has been invaded and we must respond… We cannot ignore this issue. The door to negotiations should always remain open, but this situation does not exist now.”