Iran’s military and society are now more prepared than ever to deter a potential new conflict, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, four months after a US-brokered ceasefire ended a twelve-day war between Iran and its archfoe Israel.
Iran’s current level of preparedness surpasses that seen before the 12-day war, Araghchi said in an interview published on Friday with US-based journalist Dariush Sajjadi.
“Being ready does not mean expecting war,” he said. “If you are ready to fight, no one dares to attack. I am confident the previous experience will not be repeated, and any mistake will meet the same response.”
The United States held five rounds of talks with Tehran earlier this year over its disputed nuclear program, under a 60-day ultimatum set by President Donald Trump.
When no deal was reached by the 61st day, June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign, culminating in US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear sites in Esfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.
While the 12-day war ended on June 24 following a US-brokered truce, global concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program grew even more complicated as 400 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium remains missing.
Tehran says the material was buried under rubble from US and Israeli airstrikes and is inaccessible but has yet to allow international inspectors access to the damaged facilities.
No nuclear weapon
Araghchi dismissed international concerns about Iran's possible pursuit of a nuclear weapon, saying the country's nuclear program is “completely peaceful and legally grounded,” citing a religious decree forbidding nuclear weapons.
“Our nuclear doctrine does not include nuclear arms,” he said. “We pursue enrichment because it is our right, not because we seek a bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no.”
While Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, the UN's nuclear watchdog argues that enrichment to high levels of purity lacks any civilian justification.
In 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA), calling it flawed and too lenient. He then launched a maximum pressure campaign, reimposing harsh sanctions to cripple Iran’s economy and force broader concessions on its nuclear and regional activities. After his reelection, Trump intensified the same strategy.
Relations with the United States
On ties with Washington, Araghchi said the main obstacle lies in what he called America’s “hegemonic character.”
“As long as the United States behaves with domination and Iran refuses to submit, this problem will persist,” he said. “But it can be managed—we do not have to pay every price.”
He cited repeated failed negotiations as evidence of mistrust. “We negotiated, reached agreements, and fulfilled them, yet each time the US broke its word,” he said.
"In New York (during the UN General Assembly in September), there was an opportunity for talks, but they made completely unreasonable and illogical demands — for instance, that we hand over all our enriched material to them in exchange for a six-month extension of the snapback. What sane person would accept that? It has nothing to do with Iran at all."
Araghchi said "there is no basis for trust, though diplomacy is never abandoned. If the US is ready to talk, with honesty and mutual respect, Iran is prepared for a rational and balanced agreement.”
Iran will not yield its rights or tolerate coercion but remains open to any reasonable and fair solution that preserves national dignity, he concluded.
Maleki said that airstrikes had harmed parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure but that “work is ongoing” and would not be halted. “Nuclear science has become part of the daily life of our people,” he said.
His comments followed remarks by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who said earlier this week that Iran’s technical expertise had survived the 12-day war in June, when US and Israeli airstrikes caused severe damage to key nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow. Grossi told Le Temps newspaper that Iran now holds enough enriched uranium for ten nuclear weapons if it chose to enrich further, but added there was no evidence Tehran seeks to build one.
He also said Iran had not withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that diplomacy should prevail to prevent renewed confrontation.
Maleki said Iran would continue its program “regardless of outside rhetoric” and that there was “no reason to abandon it.”
Renewed friction over IAEA oversight
The lawmaker’s remarks came amid rising tension between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency after Iran, Russia and China urged an end to the agency’s monitoring and reporting tied to the 2015 nuclear deal, following the expiry of the UN resolution that endorsed it.
In a joint letter sent on Friday, the three countries told Grossi that Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), formally expired on October 18. They asserted that with its termination, the IAEA’s reporting mandate under the resolution “has come to an end.”
Western governments reject that position, insisting that the agency’s verification work remains vital as long as Iran stays bound by the NPT and its safeguards obligations.
Grossi has said the IAEA continues to monitor developments and that cooperation between Iran and the agency is essential to avoid escalation.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said the three countries sent a joint letter to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi arguing that Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), formally expired on Oct. 18.
He said the letter followed a previous joint message the countries had sent to the UN secretary-general and the president of the Security Council, declaring the resolution terminated. “All provisions of Resolution 2231 have now lapsed, and attempts by European countries to reactivate sanctions through the so-called snapback mechanism are illegal and without effect,” Gharibabadi said, according to state media.
In their letter, the ambassadors of Iran, Russia and China wrote: “With this termination, the reporting mandate of the Director General of the IAEA concerning verification and monitoring under Security Council Resolution 2231 has come to an end.” The letter added that the IAEA Board of Governors’ decision of Dec. 15, 2015, which authorized verification and monitoring for up to 10 years or until the agency issued a broader conclusion on Iran’s nuclear program, whichever came first, “remains valid and constitutes the sole guidance which the IAEA Secretariat is obliged to follow.”
According to the three governments, “as of 18 October 2025, this matter will be automatically removed from the Board of Governors’ agenda, and no further action will be required in this context.”
Iran, Russia and China have maintained that the resolution’s expiry removes Iran’s nuclear file from the Security Council’s agenda and ends the IAEA’s mandate tied to it.
Grossi urges diplomacy, notes Iran stays in NPT
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said earlier this week that diplomacy must prevail to avoid renewed conflict and noted that Iran had not withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty despite tensions. He said continued cooperation between Iran and the agency was vital to prevent escalation.
Grossi told Le Temps newspaper on Wednesday that Iran holds enough uranium to build ten nuclear weapons if it enriched further, though there is no evidence it seeks to do so. He said Israeli and US airstrikes in June had caused “severe” damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow, but that the country’s technical know-how “has not vanished.”
Tehran and the IAEA have yet to agree on a framework to resume full inspections at the bombed sites. Grossi said Tehran was allowing inspectors access “in dribs and drabs” for security reasons, adding that efforts were continuing to rebuild trust and restore routine monitoring.