Iran foreign minister says path to nuclear deal exists if trust rebuilt with US

ISTANBUL

Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that meaningful nuclear negotiations with the US are still possible if trust can be restored, while warning that any military confrontation would engulf the wider region.

In an interview with CNN International, Abbas Araghchi said he is not concerned about war but about miscalculations driven by misinformation and outside efforts to push Washington into conflict.

Araghchi said Iran has lost trust in the US as a negotiating partner but that regional countries are acting as intermediaries to pass messages and help rebuild confidence.

"Unfortunately, we have lost our trust in the United States as a negotiating partner," he said. "We need to overcome this mistrust."

Aragchi described the current exchanges as “fruitful” and said they could prepare the ground for substantive talks.

He stressed that the focus should be on the “substance” rather than the format of negotiations, downplaying whether contacts are direct or indirect.

Referring to US President Donald Trump’s stated goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Araghchi said Tehran agrees with that objective.

"So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said," he said. "To come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there are no nuclear weapons."

"Of course, in return, we expect sanction lifting," he added.

Aragchi dismissed expanding talks to include Iran’s ballistic missile program or regional allied groups, saying negotiators should not pursue “impossible things.”

On the prospect of war with the US, he said a conflict would be “a disaster for everybody.” Because US military bases are spread across the region, he said, fighting would inevitably draw in multiple countries.

Aragchi said Iran had drawn lessons from its previous conflict with Israel and had tested its missile capabilities in real combat, improving its understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.

"And I think we are now very well prepared. But again, being prepared doesn't mean that we want war," he said. "We want to prevent a war."

Addressing concerns raised by Trump about detainees in Iran, Araghchi denied there had been any plan to carry out executions linked to recent unrest. He said the rights of all arrested and detained individuals would be observed and guaranteed.