BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 15. Iran will fully
exercise its right to self-defense in response to Israeli strikes,
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on June 15
during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran, Trend reports.
Araghchi stressed that Iran’s retaliatory actions will continue
until attacks on the Islamic Republic cease. He underlined that
Tehran has consistently followed a policy of reciprocal action,
referencing five rounds of indirect nuclear talks with the United
States. During the planned sixth round, Iran had intended to submit
its own proposal package. However, the U.S. presented its offer
first — a proposal Iran rejected as unacceptable, though it
acknowledged it could have served as a starting point for future
negotiations.
“The Israeli side has no interest in seeing an agreement between
Iran and the U.S. on the nuclear issue. Israel’s attack on Iran,
while indirect discussions are ongoing, makes that clear,” Araghchi
stated.
His remarks follow Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory in
the early hours of June 13, which reportedly killed a number of
senior Iranian military officials, including Chief of the General
Staff Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami,
Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Commander Gholamali Rashid, IRGC
Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, along with nine
nuclear scientists and other high-ranking personnel.
The five rounds of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the
United States were held on April 12, 19, 26, and May 11 and 23,
facilitated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaid. The
Iranian delegation was led by Araghchi, while the U.S. team was
headed by Special Representative for Near East Affairs Steve
Witkoff. The negotiations took place in Muscat (1st, 3rd, and 4th
rounds) and Rome (2nd and 5th rounds).
