Iran says has right self-defence if US talks fail

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Sunday that his country would respond to any US attack, but held out hope for a diplomatic solution, saying he expected another round of talks in Geneva later in the week.

Speaking in an interview on the US network CBS, the minister said there was a “good chance” that talks with US negotiators would head off renewed military strikes.

He insisted, however, that Iran had a right to continued uranium enrichment for civilian purposes – and to strike US interests in the Middle East in response to any aggression. 

“If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves. If the US attacks us, that is the act of aggression. What we do in response is an act of self-defence,” Araghchi said.

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“It is justified, legitimate. So our missiles cannot hit the American soil. So obviously we have to do something else. We have to hit, you know, the American base in the region.”

Last year, in response to US strikes on its nuclear facilities, Iran fired missiles at the US airbase at Al-Udeid in Qatar. Iranian officials sometimes also refer to Israel as a US base.

Araghchi, nevertheless, also said: “I believe that still there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution which is based on a win-win game.”

After a recent round of talks in Geneva, Iran said it was preparing a draft proposal for an agreement, which would be ready in a matter of days.

Araghchi said negotiations were continuing, and “we are working on the elements of a deal and draft of the text”.

“I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal,” he told CBS.

But, as for Iran’s uranium enrichment, which the US opposes, Araghchi said: “As a sovereign country, we have every right to decide for ourselves, by ourselves.”