Iran’s Foreign Minister Adopts Firm Stance in US Negotiations, Asserting Tehran’s Strength Lies in Its Ability to Say ‘No

DUBAI – Iran’s Foreign Minister declared on Sunday that the nation’s true strength lies in its capacity to “reject the demands of major powers.” His bold statement followed recent discussions with the United States over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and occurred amid widespread domestic protests.

At a diplomatic summit in Tehran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi underscored Iran’s firm stance on its right to enrich uranium, a contentious issue particularly with former U.S. President Donald Trump. This comes after Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June.

While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commended talks held in Oman with U.S. representatives as a positive development, Araghchi’s comments reflect the hurdles that remain. The U.S. has already repositioned the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, alongside other naval and aerial forces, in the Middle East to apply pressure on Iran and prepare for potential military actions at Trump’s discretion.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s power is rooted in its resilience against intimidation and external pressures,” Araghchi asserted. “They fear our nuclear capabilities, despite our lack of intent to develop a nuclear weapon. Our real power lies in our ability to defy the world’s major powers. The essence of our strength is in our capacity to say no to them.”

The notion of an “atomic bomb” is employed here as a metaphorical tool.

Araghchi’s choice to explicitly use an “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device likely wasn’t accidental. While Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to seek the bomb up until 2003.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%, the only non-weapons state to do so. Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.

Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khamenei’s blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks.

“The Iran-U.S. talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. … The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”

It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”

Aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea

During Friday’s talks, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military’s Central Command, was in Oman. Cooper’s presence was likely an intentional reminder to Iran about the U.S. military presence in the region. Cooper later accompanied U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, to the Lincoln out in the Arabian Sea after the indirect negotiations.

Araghchi appeared to be taking the threat of an American military strike seriously, as many worried Iranians have in recent weeks. He noted that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the U.S. “attacked us in the midst of negotiations.”

“If you take a step back (in negotiations), it is not clear up to where it will go,” Araghchi said.