Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the 19th (local time) claimed that the United States demanded a ban on uranium enrichment in prewar nuclear talks and, when Tehran refused, started the war.
Minister Araghchi, in an interview with local journalist Javad Mogui released that day, pushed back against the observation, "Since we won the war on the 12th (June last year), we said we would secure our rights through negotiations, but in the end that course hurtled toward war," saying, "That is not so."
He said, "We resisted their irrational demand of '0% enrichment.' When they realized they could not impose their demand through negotiations, they misjudged Iran's readiness and started the war," adding, "Negotiations did not trigger the war."
He went on, "(In February this year) they basically said accept the 0% enrichment demand or face military action," and explained, "In response, the government and the military authorities were convinced war would break out, but since the other side might abandon this demand, we believed we should negotiate once or twice so that even if talks collapsed, we would have accumulated the justification that we 'did what we could.'"
He also said, "If any country can achieve its goals through the path of negotiation, of course it prefers this path, which carries less risk and less expense," adding, "Even with a 10% chance, if negotiations can yield a result other than war, we should try this opportunity."
He added that the decision "to end the war on the 12th and negotiate with the United States was not my decision but a collective one," referring to a six-member committee under the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
He said, "Through the war on the 12th we gained not only political lessons but also very important military lessons," claiming, "The missile launcher system was completely restructured and changed into a configuration that could be immediately replaced no matter how much they struck."
He continued, "Military scenarios were all reviewed, with codes assigned, for a unilateral U.S. attack, a joint U.S.-Israel attack, an attack on national infrastructure, and the event of the supreme leader's incapacitation," adding, "Thanks to this preparation, we were able to respond without delay immediately after the outbreak of war."
He added, "How do you think it was possible to blockade the Strait of Hormuz from day one?" and said, "It was because it had been designed to immediately close the strait if the supreme leader were hit."
He pushed back as untrue against the criticism, "Why don't you pressure Middle Eastern countries hard?"
He said, "One of the regional leaders, with a very arrogant attitude and even a peculiar hint of glee, said 'the United States will target Iran's mainland and the supreme leader,'" adding, "I warned him, 'If you attack our oil facilities, no one in the Middle East will be able to export oil.'" Minister Araghchi explained that after that, countries in the region began to move to prevent the war.
Regarding the anti-government protests in January this year, he said, "In any case, we acknowledge that we had weaknesses," but also claimed, "On Jan. 8 and 9, external operatives intervened in earnest and indiscriminately fired on civilians and riot-control forces." He then linked this to the remark by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would intervene "if bloodshed occurs in Iran."
The Omani foreign minister who mediated the nuclear talks posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the mood for negotiations was good until just before the outbreak of war. However, Minister Araghchi said the Omani foreign minister, who was visiting the United States at the time, called him and was deeply disheartened and depressed. He said that, as a result, on the day before the outbreak of war he concluded that war could not be avoided and reported this up the chain.
He revealed that on Feb. 28, the day the war broke out, he learned that night that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had died around 9 a.m. that morning. Minister Araghchi had denied Khamenei's death for a time.
Minister Araghchi also emphasized that the retaliatory airstrikes on the Gulf region were not an independent judgment by the military but were carried out after real-time communication with the core command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a diplomatic ultimatum.
He also said he has not met face-to-face with the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
To the question, "Was the cease-fire in line with Mojtaba's view?" he only answered, "At the time it was difficult to communicate with him directly, so we communicated through intermediaries, and matters were conveyed in that manner."