WASHINGTON: Iran’s top diplomat on Tuesday warned US President Donald Trump to put aside a military option ahead of nuclear talks, saying that Tehran will never accept “coercion.”
In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated earlier statements to Iranian state media that a deal would be possible if the United States shows goodwill.
But ahead of the weekend talks in Oman, Araghchi also warned against a military strike, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday would be “inevitable” if US-Iran talks drag on.
“To move forward today, we first need to agree that there can be no ‘military option,’ let alone a ‘military solution,’” Araghchi wrote.
Iran rejects Trump call for direct nuclear talks
“The proud Iranian nation, whose strength my government relies on for real deterrence, will never accept coercion and imposition,” he wrote.
Pointing to the US leader’s push to end the Ukraine conflict, Araghchi said: “We cannot imagine President Trump wanting to become another US president mired in a catastrophic war in the Middle East – a conflict that would quickly extend across the region and cost exponentially more than the trillions of taxpayer dollars that his predecessors burned in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Trump has also warned of a military strike if Iran does not agree to a deal but has put a focus on seeking a diplomatic solution, despite hawkish remarks from some of his aides.
Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.
Trump during his first term tore up an earlier agreement with Iran on its nuclear program that had been negotiated under president Barack Obama but opposed by Israel and most of Trump’s Republican Party.
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