Kamal Ghorui
Iran FM Abbas Araghchi addressing media in Delhi
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday said Tehran has “received messages” from the United States seeking the continuation of talks.Click here for live updates on US-Iran warAraghchi made the remarks at a press conference in New Delhi, where he is attending the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting.“What was said about the United States rejecting Iran’s proposal, or Iran rejecting the American proposal, relates to a few days ago, when Mr Trump tweeted that it was unacceptable,” Araghchi told reporters, referring to Tehran’s response to a US proposal that called for halting hostilities before moving to negotiations on contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.“But after that, we received messages again from the Americans saying they are willing to continue the talks and maintain engagement,” the Islamic Republic’s top diplomat added.Dismissing Iran’s response, Trump had described it as a “piece of garbage” and stated that the ceasefire, in place since April 8, was “on massive life support” and “unbelievably weak.”“I would call it the weakest right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us. I didn’t even finish reading it,” Trump told reporters earlier this week.Also Read: Trump says US-Iran ceasefire on ‘life support’; calls Tehran’s latest proposal ‘piece of garbage’Meanwhile, Araghchi remarked that Iran has “no trust in the Americans,” accusing Washington of turning to diplomacy only after failing to achieve its objectives through military pressure.“Now, after 40 days of war, when the US became hopeless of achieving any goal in their aggression against Iran, they offered negotiation,” he noted. “We have no trust in Americans. This is the main obstacle in the way of any diplomatic effort. We have every reason not to trust Americans, while they have no reason not to trust us.”Calling the ceasefire “very shaky,” Araghchi maintained that Tehran was nevertheless trying to preserve it to allow space for diplomacy.“We are now in a state of ceasefire, although it’s very shaky. But we are trying to keep it to give diplomacy a chance,” he stressed. “There is no military solution to anything related to Iran. They have tested us time and again. We never bow to any pressure or threat. We also resist against any sanction. Iranian people only answer to the language of respect,” he added.The Middle East war began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. The two sides later met in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11-12 for high-stakes talks, but failed to secure a breakthrough.
