UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
By Merve Berker
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday warned that a possible US participation in Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran would be “very unfortunate” and “very, very dangerous for everybody.”
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul ahead of the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Araghchi said: “As everybody knows, we're in the middle of negotiations with the United States."
Highlighting that Israel decided to attack Iran just two days before the June 15 scheduled 6th round of the negotiations, he added: "It is obvious that they are against the negotiations, it is obvious that they don't want a peaceful settlement of this issue"
“We are absolutely ready for a negotiated solution," he emphasized, referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — signed with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, UK, France, Russia, and China) plus Germany, collectively known as the P5+1.
"At that time, we negotiated two years of negotiations, and then when we concluded the deal, the whole world celebrates it," he added.
Araghchi said: “It means that diplomacy can work in the past and can work in the future. But in order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped.”
“It is obvious I cannot go to negotiations with the United States when our people are under bombardment,” he said.
He accused Israel of deliberately launching attacks to sabotage diplomatic progress: “Obviously, we did not want this kind of settlement of business.”
Araghchi also said: “We have come unfortunately to the conclusion that the United States has been in this aggression from the beginning. They deny it. They keep saying that they are not involved. But we have many indications that they have been involved since day one.”
“And now the tweets, interviews by the US President (Donald Trump), it is quite clear that he is talking about the US leadership on these questions,” he added.
He noted: “Unfortunately, we have heard that the US may join this aggression. That would be very unfortunate, ... very dangerous for everybody.”
Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.