Above photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA /Handout via Reuters.
‘Compensation For War And Security Guarantees.’
Iran has warned of a response that will be ‘impossible to cover up’ if Tel Aviv and Washington launch a new attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview published on 31 July that Tehran is seeking financial compensation for Israel’s war, an explanation on why Iran was attacked during negotiations, and security guarantees for any resumption of nuclear talks with Washington.
Araghchi told the Financial Times (FT) that Iran will not accept going back to “business as usual” after Israel launched its unprovoked war on the country in mid-June.
“They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of … negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that [during future talks]. And they have to compensate [Iran for] the damage that they have done,” Araghchi added.
He said he has exchanged messages with US envoy Steve Witkoff since the war ended, and that Witkoff has tried to convince him to return to negotiations.
“The road to negotiation is narrow but it’s not impossible. I need to convince my hierarchy that if we go for negotiation, the other side is coming with real determination for a win-win deal. We need real confidence-building measures from their side. My message [to Witkoff] is not that complicated. I said the recent aggression proved there is no military solution for Iran’s nuclear program, but a negotiated solution can be found,” the Iranian diplomat added.
Israel started its war on Iran on 13 June in the middle of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. Iran responded with successive barrages of ballistic missiles until the war came to an end on 24 June.
The US joined the war on 23 June with a bunker-buster attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, to which Tehran responded with a missile attack on its Al-Udeid base in Qatar.
Iranian nuclear facilities were heavily damaged, and western intelligence assessments have revealed that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program has not been “obliterated” as Washington has claimed.
According to Araghchi, a new enrichment site that Tehran had revealed right before the war – in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board vote against it – was also struck.
This is the first acknowledgment of an attack on this particular site.
“As far as I know, the preparations were made [for enrichment], but it was not active when it was attacked,” Araghchi said.
Araghchi’s comments come after recent threats by Israel to restart the war against Iran. Defense Minister Israel Katz said late last month that attempts by Tehran to move forward with its nuclear program will be met with force.
The Iranian foreign minister has said that a deal with Washington is not possible if the US returns to its previous “zero enrichment” demand, and that Iran will not back down from enrichment.
He has also reiterated Iranian warnings of a harsher retaliation to any renewed attack.
“If aggression is repeated, we will not hesitate to react in a more decisive manner and in a way that will be IMPOSSIBLE to cover up,” Araghchi said earlier this week, referring to Israeli censorship of coverage on sites targeted by Iran.
