TEHRAN – Iranians are increasingly doubtful about the prospects for a diplomatic deal with Washington and its European allies. This skepticism was made clear at a recent international conference held in Tehran titled “International Law Under Attack: Aggression and Defense.” There, senior Iranian diplomats questioned both the U.S.’s true willingness to pursue diplomacy and the U.S. government’s ability to understand what is best for the region and for the United States itself.
The new atmosphere comes after more than five months of unprecedented tensions with the West over Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran was in talks with the United States earlier this year to negotiate a new deal to replace the JCPOA, the 2015 deal that President Trump abandoned in 2018, but on June 13, the United States supported Israel in launching attacks on Iran’s nuclear, civilian, and military infrastructure. Over the next 12 days, President Donald Trump vowed to overthrow the Iranian government, urged the evacuation of the capital’s roughly 10 million residents, and ordered the United States’ own attack on Iran. Iran’s nuclear facilities. Post-war tensions escalated further when European signatories to the JCPOA (Germany, UK and France) activated a mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions against Iran in October of this year. Iranian officials claim the action was taken at the behest of the US government. The E3 is reportedly currently preparing to pass an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution calling for Iran to open its damaged nuclear facilities to UN inspectors. After the US and Israeli attacks, Tehran suspended cooperation with the IAEA as the UN nuclear watchdog refused to condemn the attacks despite their complete illegality.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi answered questions from reporters after participating in a panel at the Tehran conference. He said the United States is asking Iran to engage in new negotiations after effectively bombing the previous negotiating table.
“The truth is that the first bomb was fired at the negotiating table between Iran and the United States when the Israeli regime attacked Iran on June 13, under the orders and guidance of the President of the United States. There have been five rounds of negotiations, and the sixth round is scheduled for two days later, on June 15.” “The first casualty of the 12-day war was diplomacy.”
President Trump said earlier this month that he was “mostly responsible” for the June War.
The diplomat added that Iran has no intention of conceding anything that the United States failed to secure during the war. The Trump administration is reportedly demanding that the country completely dismantle its nuclear program and accept range limits to prevent missiles from reaching Israel. Iranian authorities dismissed the request as “insane.”
“There are no laws in the jungle that America has created. You have to be strong to protect yourself,” Araghchi said.
Kamal Khalazi, the Iranian leader’s foreign policy adviser, was more frank about his government’s views on the United States. In a separate panel discussion, he characterized the current occupants of the White House as a bunch of “showmen” with “no experience in diplomacy.”
“We will continue to resist pressure,” he said. “America needs to understand that nothing can take away our independence. We will resist, just as we did during the eight-year war and the 12-day war[with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein].” The senior diplomat added that Washington needed to engage in “real diplomacy” with Tehran.
Mr. Khalaj did not elaborate on his definition of “true diplomacy,” but Islamic Revolution leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei said last month that Iran would not accept negotiations that involve “dictating the outcome” or making non-starting demands.