Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stressed on Sunday Tehran's adherence to uranium enrichment and its refusal to expand negotiations to include missiles, and said that his country would not abandon enrichment "even if war was imposed on us" with Washington. While the pressures of the United States are mounting, which has strengthened its military buildup in the region. Judgments and arrests continue inside Iran.

Published on: 09/02/2026 - 04:47

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on Sunday that his country will not abandon uranium enrichment “even if war is forced on us” with the United States, at a time when Washington continues to strengthen its military buildup in the region.

In parallel with the escalation abroad, Tehran is tightening its grip at home after a crackdown on protests that resulted in the deaths of thousands, targeting reformist political figures, coinciding with the issuance of a new prison sentence against Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Narges Mohammadi.

Araqchi's statements came after the first round of talks between Iran and the United States held on Friday in the Sultanate of Oman, which both parties described as "positive", while declaring a desire to resume them soon.

During a press conference, the Iranian minister expressed doubts about Washington's seriousness about "holding real negotiations," explaining that Tehran "will evaluate all the signals and then make its decision about continuing the negotiations," while referring to parallel consultations with China and Russia.

Regarding the negotiation framework, Iran insists on what it considers red lines, as it stresses limiting the talks to its nuclear program, and reiterates its adherence to its right to a peaceful nuclear program.

Read also: The US-Iranian talks... Any indications of a change in Tehran’s tone?

On the other hand, the United States is pushing towards a broader agreement that includes, in addition to the nuclear file, two additional provisions: restricting Iranian missile capabilities, and stopping Tehran’s support for armed factions hostile to Israel, in light of the deployment of a large naval force in the Gulf and the strengthening of the presence in bases in the region.

On the Israeli side, Benjamin Netanyahu's government demands that these two items not be complacent, with the Prime Minister heading to Washington on Wednesday to discuss the issue with the American administration.

At a forum held in Tehran on Sunday and attended by Agence France-Presse, Araqchi reiterated that Iran will not respond to US President Donald Trump’s demands to stop uranium enrichment, saying that his country “will not abandon enrichment even if war is imposed on us.”

He also indicated, without providing details, Tehran's readiness to discuss "a series of confidence-building measures around the nuclear program" in exchange for lifting international sanctions that are putting strong pressure on the Iranian economy.

Commenting on the American military presence, Araqchi considered that “their military buildup in the region does not scare us,” a day after the American envoy Steve Witkoff visited the aircraft carrier “Abraham Lincoln” stationed in the Gulf.

The minister stressed that "Iran is a diplomatic nation, and it is also a war nation," pointing out that "this does not mean that we seek war."

"Peace through strength"

For his part, Witkoff wrote Saturday on social media platforms that he visited the aircraft carrier accompanied by the Commander of Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, and Jared Kushner, stressing that he met "the brave sailors and Marines who preserve our security and support President Trump's message of peace through strength."

Over the past weeks, Trump has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of resorting to a military option against Iran, whether in response to the suppression of protests in January, or with the aim of increasing pressure to push Tehran to accept a new agreement.

After Friday's talks in Amman, which were chaired by Araqchi on the Iranian side and in which Witkoff and Kushner participated on the American side, Trump spoke of "very good talks," indicating that a new round would be held "early next week."

This is the first round of its kind since the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, during the Israeli attack on Iran, which developed into a 12-day confrontation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commented on these developments on Sunday, considering that the talks “which took place with the support of friendly governments in the region represent a step forward.”

On Saturday, Araqchi announced that an understanding had been reached with Washington to hold a new round soon. He explained to Al Jazeera that “there is still a long way to build confidence,” reiterating that Iranian missile capabilities “are not a subject of negotiation.”

Western accusations and the Israeli position

Iran faces repeated accusations from Western countries and Israel of seeking to possess a nuclear weapon, while Tehran asserts that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Sunday described "Iran's attempt to obtain the most dangerous weapon in the world" as a direct threat to world peace, warning that "the huge amount of long-range ballistic missiles that the Iranian regime seeks to produce puts Israel and others in danger."

Araqchi responded by saying, “Our nuclear bomb is our ability to say no to the major powers,” stressing that his country does not seek to possess a nuclear bomb.

On the diplomatic level, negotiations between Tehran and Washington began last spring, before they faltered, especially because of the dispute over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, and then stopped completely after the outbreak of the June war.

Although Trump asserted at the time that the US strikes "destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities," the actual extent of the damage is still a matter of debate among experts.

Suppression of protests and new rulings

Despite external pressure, the Iranian authorities continue to cling to their internal course, in light of the decline in economic and military capabilities, and the exposure of its allies in the region to strikes during the past two years, led by Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to a wave of popular protests that were violently suppressed and led to the killing of thousands, according to human rights organizations, which sparked widespread international criticism.

For weeks, Trump has continued to threaten military intervention against Iran against the backdrop of the suppression of demonstrators.

At the level of numbers, Tehran acknowledges the killing of more than three thousand people during the protests, and confirms that most of them are security personnel and civilian bystanders, while the US-based “Hrana” human rights organization indicates the documentation of the killing of 6,971 people, the majority of whom were demonstrators, in addition to more than 51,000 detainees.

France 24/AFP

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