NEW YORK, Feb 2 (APP): Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that meaningful nuclear negotiations with the US are still possible if trust can be restored, while warning that any military confrontation would engulf the wider region.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, we have lost our trust (in) the US as a negotiating partner,\u201d he said in an interview with CNN International, but the exchange of messages through friendly countries in the region was facilitating \u201cfruitful\u201d talks with the US. “We need to overcome this mistrust.”<\/p>\n
Araghchi said he is not concerned about war but about miscalculations driven by misinformation and outside efforts to push Washington into conflict.
\nHe described the current exchanges as \u201cfruitful\u201d and said they could prepare the ground for substantive talks.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister stressed that the focus should be on the \u201csubstance\u201d rather than the format of negotiations, downplaying whether contacts are direct or indirect.<\/p>\n
Referring to US President Donald Trump\u2019s stated goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Araghchi said Tehran agrees with that objective.<\/p>\n
“So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said,” he said. “To come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there are no nuclear weapons.”<\/p>\n
“Of course, in return, we expect sanction lifting,” he added.<\/p>\n
Aragchi dismissed expanding talks to include Iran\u2019s ballistic missile programme or regional allied groups, saying negotiators should not pursue \u201cimpossible things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran’s top diplomat says he is \u201cconfident that we can achieve a deal\u201d on the programme, which the US and Israel claim aims to build nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
On the prospect of war with the US, he said a conflict would be \u201ca disaster for everybody.\u201d Because US military bases are spread across the region, he said, fighting would inevitably draw in multiple countries.<\/p>\n
Aragchi said Iran had drawn lessons from its previous conflict with Israel and had tested its missile capabilities in real combat, improving its understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n
“And I think we are now very well prepared. But again, being prepared doesn’t mean that we want war,” he said. “We want to prevent a war.”<\/p>\n
Addressing concerns raised by Trump about detainees in Iran, Araghchi denied there had been any plan to carry out executions linked to recent unrest. He said the rights of all arrested and detained individuals would be observed and guaranteed.<\/p>\n