Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday said the country should not fear war and faulted the United States for withdrawing from a past nuclear deal and failing to achieve diplomatic progress in talks.
"Negotiation is a fundamental tool for securing national interests and security. There are two ways to achieve your aims: war or negotiation. And negotiation is, of course, the less costly option," Abbas Araghchi told students at a speech in Hamedan in Western Iran.
"That said, we should not be afraid of war or of fighting; if we are afraid, war will be imposed on us," he added. "The best way to deter war is to be prepared for it."
A 12-day conflict launched by Israel in June killed hundreds of Iranian military personnel and civilians and was capped off by US strikes on three nuclear sites. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.
Still, the impasse over Iran's disputed nuclear program persists. Tehran denies seeking a bomb but Western powers and Israel doubt its intentions.
European countries and the United States have called for renewed talks between Washington and Tehran, but Iran says it will not renounce domestic uranium enrichment or discuss its missile program and its support for regional armed groups.
Iran, Aragchi added, had “tested negotiations with the United States in different circumstances and never achieved positive results.”
Referring to a 2015 nuclear deal, he said, “America unilaterally withdrew and reinstated sanctions.”
Araghchi said Iran’s foreign policy rests on independence from both East and West. “We do not trust any country,” he said. “However, we have strategic partnerships with some, including China and Russia, and continue our cooperation within that framework.”
Turning to nuclear policy, he reaffirmed Iran’s continued adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, citing a religious decree prohibiting nuclear weapons.
