Tehran, Iran (Antara) – The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Sunday (15/6), said his party was ready to stop the attack on Israel if Tel Aviv also stopped his invasion of Tehran.
Araghchi spoke for foreign ambassadors in Tehran that this war was “forced” to Iran and Tehran had no choice but to respond.
“Our defense is completely valid and will be executed with force, exclusively in response to aggression,” he said. “If the attack is stopped, Iran’s answer will also end.”
The tension between Iran and Israel increased sharply after the coordinated air strikes at a number of locations in Tehran, including military and nuclear facilities, on Friday (6/13), which Iran immediately answered within a few hours.
On Saturday (6/14) Night, Iran launched the second wave of True Promise III operation, mainly focused on economic and industrial facilities in the port city of Israel, Haifa. In the meantime, Israel returned by attacking the Ministry of Defense and Oil Depot in Tehran.
Iran said that no fewer than 78 people were killed on the first day of Israeli attacks, and dozens of others, including children, became victims on the second day.
The conflict caused stopping indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States mediated by Oman. The sixth round of the conversation will take place on Sunday on Muskat.
Read also: Former Pentagon adviser: War with Iran can drag us to PD III
American involvement
Araghchi said that Israel’s aggression could not occur without coordination and support from the United States, and that was one of the main reasons for the failure of nuclear conversations.
He claimed that Iran had “strong and convincing evidence” that American military troops and bases in the region had supported Israeli attacks.
The Iranian Foreign Minister quoted the statement by US President Donald Trump, who said that the attack “could not take place without American equipment” and indicated that there would be “further phases” as additional proof of American involvement.
Regarding the American representation about his involvement in Israel’s attack on Natanz’s nuclear facilities in the province of Isfahan, Araghchi stated that Iran rejected the claim because there was “conflicting evidence”.
“If the US is really not involved, the US must condemn this attack firmly and openly,” he said, and added that closed messages were not enough.
He also insisted on the international community to recognize violations of international law committed by Israel.
Araghchi accused Israel “repeatedly sabotaged nuclear negotiations”, including the sabotage incident in the Natanz Enrichment Facility in 2020 during the Vienna interviews to breathe new life into the 2015 nuclear agreement.
He said that Iran responded to the incident by increasing the enrichment of uranium by 60 percent and replacing damaged centrifugal with a more advanced model.
Despite experiencing different provocations, Araghchi emphasized that Iran continued to follow the negotiations with the US in good faith, even had five discussion rounds and had drawn up a counter proposal to bridge differences to reach an agreement.
However, he emphasized that Israel was still against every nuclear agreement and actively tried to thwart the diplomacy path.
In response to the last attack on Natanz, Iran officially asked the International Energy Agency (IAEA) to keep an extraordinary hearing and to mention the Israeli attack as a “red line” in international law that has now been violated.
Source: Anadolu
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Translator: Primayanti
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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