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Iran is open to talks with the United States but wants “credible guarantees” against new attacks first, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday, adding that Washington now holds the choice on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"Iran does not accept coercion, threats and intimidation and will not relinquish its sovereign rights under pressure. But it remains ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and credible guarantees," Araghchi told the 52nd session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Baghdad.
Tehran's conditions for returning to talks come as indirect contacts through Qatar and Oman continue and shipping through Hormuz remains about 70% below prewar levels, with global energy markets hanging on the outcome.
"Through Qatar, we conveyed a specific seven-day plan and said that if the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal maritime traffic can return within seven days. The choice is now with America," the top Iranian diplomat said.
"Iran has negotiated in good faith over the past two years but has faced military attack each time, not diplomacy. This has created deep mistrust about resuming negotiations without credible guarantees of non-repetition," he added.
He said maritime traffic recovered to about 60% of prewar levels within two weeks of the June 17 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), mediated by Pakistan with Qatar’s support.
"But the unilateral actions and military aggressions of the U.S. prevented implementation of the memorandum," he said.
"We never attacked our neighbors; but we attacked and destroyed U.S. bases and military facilities, bases and facilities that unfortunately are located in our neighborhood," Araghchi said, adding that about 5,000 people, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in U.S. and Israeli attacks.
"We believe the territory, airspace and infrastructure of every country in the region should only serve regional security and never become a launchpad for attack against a neighbor," he said, adding, "The choice before us is simple: either we build security together, or we will endure insecurity together."
On Yemen, Araghchi said regional crises have no military solution.
"We support the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Yemen as well as Saudi Arabia," he said, offering to help facilitate dialogue based on a previously agreed peace roadmap.
He also backed a Turkish proposal on Gaza. "I would also like to support the proposal of my brother, Mr. Hakan Fidan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Türkiye, to designate a day as ‘Gaza Genocide Remembrance Day,’" Araghchi said, thanking Türkiye for its OIC chairmanship.
Iraq took over the rotating presidency from Türkiye at the meeting.
Araghchi met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly Palestine, Iran's Foreign Ministry said. The two also discussed Islamophobia and the situation in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, with Araghchi briefing Fidan on the latest developments.
Indirect talks with Washington are continuing through Qatar and Oman, Iranian lawmaker Yaqoub Rezazadeh told ILNA.
"We have presented a set of conditions, and the other side has also presented a set of conditions. We are now waiting to see whether the conditions we announced will be accepted by the Americans," he said.
Rezazadeh said he did not expect a new war before the U.S. midterm elections and Israel’s elections, adding that Iran would not launch a preemptive attack but would respond if attacked.
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The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, before a ceasefire was reached in April. Clashes between Washington and Tehran later resumed as negotiations stalled despite the two sides signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June.
Tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz have remained high amid the Iran-U.S. war and disputes about navigation through the strategic waterway.
Tehran maintains that it controls passage through Iranian waters in the strait and has warned vessels against using routes it considers unauthorized, while Washington has insisted on freedom of navigation through the waterway.
Recent attacks on commercial vessels in and around the strait have further heightened maritime tensions.
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