DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat insisted Sunday that Tehran’s strength comes from its ability to “say no to great powers” as it adopts extremist stances amid talks with the United States over its nuclear program and nationwide protests.
Addressing diplomats at a Tehran summit, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would maintain its position that it must be able to enrich uranium – a major point of contention with President Donald Trump, who bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day Iran-Iraq war in June.
While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed Friday’s talks with the Americans in Oman as a “step forward,” Araghchi’s comments signaled the challenges ahead. The United States has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to force Iran into a deal and have the firepower needed to strike at the Islamic Republic if Trump chooses to do so.
“I believe the secret of the strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran is its ability to withstand bullying, domination and pressure from others,” Araghchi said. “They are afraid of our atomic bomb, and we are not pursuing the atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers. The secret of the strength of the Islamic Republic is the power to say no to the great powers.”
“Atomic Bomb” as a Rhetorical Device
It may not be accidental that Araghchi chooses to explicitly use “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical device. Although Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to pursue nuclear weapons before 2003.
Iran has been enriching uranium to 60% purity, a short technical step to reach 90% weapons-grade levels, and is the only non-weapons country to do so. Iranian officials have also increasingly threatened in recent years that the Islamic Republic may seek nuclear weapons, although Iranian diplomats point to sermons by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a binding fatwa that Iran will not create such a religious decree.
Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to hold talks with the Americans, possibly with Khamenei’s approval, also wrote about the talks in X on Sunday.
“The Iran-U.S. talks, held through follow-up efforts by friendly governments in the region, are a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution of problems. … The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”
It is unclear when, where or if a second round of talks will take place. After Friday’s talks, Trump offered few details but said: “Iran looks very much like making a deal – and they should.”
Aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, was in Oman during Friday’s talks. Cooper’s presence may have been intended to remind Iran of the U.S. military presence in the region. After the indirect negotiations, Cooper then accompanied U.S. envoy Steve Witkopf and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to the Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Araghchi appears to be taking the threat of a U.S. military strike seriously, as many concerned Iranians have done in recent weeks. He pointed out that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the United States “attacked us in the negotiations.”
“If you take a step back[in negotiations]it’s not clear where things will go,” Araghchi said.