Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has strongly condemned recent Israeli attacks, labeling them a “betrayal of diplomacy” allegedly enabled by the United States, and affirmed that negotiations are now at a complete standstill.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Araghchi expressed deep mistrust toward the US in light of ongoing military actions, stating, “We don’t know how we can trust them anymore. What they did was, in fact, a betrayal of diplomacy.”
The Iranian diplomat implied that the sixth round of US-brokered nuclear talks may have been a strategic cover for Israel’s military actions. “Perhaps they had this plan in mind and simply used the negotiations to conceal it,” he said.
Araghchi firmly declared that Iran will not return to the negotiating table while hostilities persist: “We’re not prepared to negotiate with them anymore, as long as the aggression continues.”
Regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Araghchi reiterated that uranium enrichment would continue without compromise, a stance he said was made clear to US envoy Steve Witkoff. “I told him several times zero enrichment is impossible,” Araghchi asserted. “This is an achievement of our own scientists. It’s a question of national pride and dignity.”
While he described Witkoff as “a gentleman, somebody you can work with,” Araghchi emphasized that trust had eroded. “There is a lack of confidence now between us because he didn’t deliver his promises and what he told us that we can do.”
Araghchi also dismissed the idea that Israeli strikes could derail Iran’s nuclear capabilities. “Suppose they destroy one facility or two. We can rebuild them, because the knowledge is here, the technology is there. The technology cannot be reversed, cannot be destroyed by bombs.”
Responding to US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks claiming knowledge of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s location and stating the US would not "take him out—for now," Araghchi called the statement a grave diplomatic misstep. “I see it more as an insult. And I’m amazed how the president of the so-called superpower can talk like this,” he said. “It is certainly not acceptable the way that he talked about our respected leader.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that eliminating Khamenei could bring an end to the conflict, saying last week, “It’s not going to escalate the conflict. It’s going to end the conflict.”
Araghchi responded by calling such a move “the biggest crime they [Israel] can commit,” but added that “Jerusalem won’t be able to do that.”
Despite growing speculation from US and Israeli officials that the war could bring about the fall of the Islamic Republic, Araghchi voiced confidence in Iran’s endurance. “We have lived for thousands of years in that place. We have never been a colony of any other power. We have always been independent,” he said. “We are the cradle of civilization—the Persian civilization. So all those things cannot be bombed away.”
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