Araghchi said lifting sanctions is the Foreign Ministry’s exclusive mission, carried out “with dignity and in defense of national interests.”
“Negotiation is different from taking dictation and receiving orders; we accept fair talks based on mutual interests.”
Iran’s foreign policy, he added, aims to preserve independence while keeping dialogue open, despite renewed pressure and the reimposition of UN sanctions.
Regional mediation efforts
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday that his government is working to help revive US-Iran nuclear negotiations suspended after the June war between Iran, Israel, and the United States.
“We are trying to engage with the United States and with the Iranians to make sure that the talks come back on track between the two countries, because I believe once we have the talks started, we can achieve an agreement,” Al Thani said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York.
Qatar, which shares the world’s largest natural gas field with Iran across the Persian Gulf, has often played a mediating role between Tehran and Western powers.
Washington demanded that Tehran halt all uranium enrichment, but Iran refused, insisting that the pursuit of peaceful nuclear technology is its legitimate international right.