Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday acknowledged that the US was building its military fleet in the region but insisted, “Their military deployment in the region does not scare us.”
Iran has called on the United States to “respect” Tehran amid the threat of war with the United States, saying the country does not understand the language of force. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted that Tehran has the right to continue its uranium enrichment under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, as the two nations look ahead to another round of nuclear negotiations next week following mediated discussions in Oman.
“Our reasoning on the nuclear issue is based on rights stipulated in the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X. “The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect but cannot withstand the language of force.”
The Iranian civil leader described the indirect talks held in Oman on Friday as a “step forward” and said his administration favours dialogue.
US Deployment in the Gulf
The remarks came amid a significant build-up of US military assets in the Gulf, as the Donald Trump administration in the United States has been increasing the pressure on Iran over its nuclear plans and the violent crackdown on January’s protests.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday acknowledged that the US was building its military fleet in the region but insisted, “Their military deployment in the region does not scare us.”
The US sent its aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, to the Arabian Sea at the end of January amid increasing tensions with Iran. Last week, the BBC reported that a dozen F-15 fighter jets, an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone, and several A-10C Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft had arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
The British publication said it analyzed satellite imagery that showed the guided-missile destroyer ship, USS Delbert D Black, was sailing through the Suez Canal in Egypt from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and a US Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone was operating over the Gulf. The presence of an E-11A communications aircraft, P-8 Poseidon and E-3G Sentry surveillance and reconnaissance planes was also reported in the region earlier.
Iran’s Defiance
Despite the US military buildup in the region, the Iranian Foreign Minister has ruled out Tehran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington, insisting it will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States.
Washington first threatened to intervene over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, with authorities on Sunday arresting three prominent reformists accused of anti-government rhetoric. They also imposed another hefty prison sentence on Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested before the protests, on charges of harming national security.
Araghchi told a forum in Tehran that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously. He later said Iran was consulting with its “strategic partners” China and Russia, about the talks.
“Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behavior,” Araghchi said.
US-Iran Talks
The United States and Iran reopened negotiations on Friday in Oman for the first time since Israel’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June of last year, which the US briefly joined. Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme”.
Western countries and Israel, thought to be the Middle East’s only country with nuclear weapons, say Iran is seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which the Islamic Republic denies.
“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.
The US and Israel want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear question and include Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region, issues Iran refuses to include in the talks. The United States has, meanwhile, announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.
At the Tehran forum on Sunday, Araghchi said ongoing “sanctions and military actions raise doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations”.
