He emphasized that relocating UN sanctions via military action and snapback mechanisms only complicates the situation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister made his remarks while speaking with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday evening (ET). Iranian diplomat Araguchi visited New York for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
On the same day, US President Donald Trump reiterated his previous statement on Iran’s nuclear program at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.
“Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities eliminated making it impossible for them to have nuclear weapons. They probably had about two months later,” Trump said that we and Israel attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in Israel, a 12-day war that took place against Iran on June 13th this year.
Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Aragut said the reality that Iran has never tried to own nuclear weapons was proven when he signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 with P5+1 countries, including the United States.
The Iranian Foreign Minister further stated that Iran implemented the JCPOA in good faith and fulfilled all its commitments. The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 without justification, he added, as numerous reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran was fully compliant with its obligations.
Iran proved it didn’t seek nuclear weapons and accepted Trump’s invitation to nuclear talks in May and June 2025, Araguchi said. Five rounds of talks were held, but Israel attacked Iran two days before the planned sixth round negotiations, and the US accompanied Israel in the attack, he added.
Iran has had two bitter and unpleasant experiences with the United States. Once an agreement was reached, the US then retreated, and this year Iran negotiated just to be attacked, the top diplomat pointed out.
He pointed out that while the US struck Iran’s nuclear sites, causing serious damage to them, military action failed to resolve the standoffs as Iran owns indigenous nuclear technology and does not rely on imports from overseas.
Iran is developing the technology independently and remains within reach, he said. If there is concern about Iran’s nuclear program, the solution must be diplomatic and Iran is always ready for dialogue and negotiated settlements, Araguchi explained.
The top diplomat also said he had arrived in New York last week with a fair, balanced and constructive proposal for a stand-off diplomatic resolution. However, he added that these proposals were rejected by the US and E3 (UK, France and Germany), which relied on a snapback mechanism that reinstated UN sanctions on Iran.
They chose to take military action, but the problem was not resolved. Now they’re turning to snapback mechanisms, which doesn’t solve the problem either. On the contrary, it only complicates the situation and makes it more difficult to achieve a diplomatic solution, the Iranian foreign minister said.
In Trump’s 20-point plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, Araguchi said Iran is seeking an end to Gaza’s genocide and that all governments are obligated to cooperate towards that goal.
He also said that over 100 plans have been proposed in the last eight years to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the only one that can withstand is to recognize the Palestinian right to determine their own fate. He added that he is waiting to review Trump’s plans and see how Hamas responds.
MNA