Iran will never surrender, its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said. He said talks between Tehran and Washington are continuing through Qatari and Pakistani mediation.
But if the crisis is to be resolved through talks, the United States must keep its earlier promises, he said, according to Mehr News Agency.
Araghchi spoke in an interview with the Iraqi broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya on Tuesday night (20 October). Iran would not surrender under any circumstances, he said.
According to Iran’s foreign minister, the root of the dispute between Tehran and Washington is US opposition to Iran’s Islamic system of government and Iran’s refusal to accept US dominance. The dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme is only a pretext for the real problem, he said.
The United States does not want to accept a position that opposes US dominance and will not bow to its power, Araghchi said, and that is why the nuclear issue is being pushed to the fore.
Iran’s top diplomat also spoke of his distrust of the talks. Iran had sat down with the United States three times before, he said, and each time the talks ended in war against Iran.
He was referring to US and Israeli strikes on Iran in June last year and from 28 February to 7 April this year. Talks between Tehran and Washington were under way during both rounds of attacks, he said. He also accused the United States of breaching a memorandum of understanding the two countries reached last June through Pakistani mediation.
“There is no room to trust the US position,” Araghchi said.
To keep diplomatic efforts from collapsing completely, however, he said Iran has proposed a seven-day plan aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz on conditions. Iran has kept the key waterway closed in response to the recent US-Israeli strikes and over what it calls repeated US breaches of its promises, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report