On the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Araqchi called for an urgent session of the UN Security Council, warning of the grave consequences of this "blatant aggression."
He emphasized that the US attack represents a clear violation of the principle of nuclear non-proliferation, accusing US President Donald Trump of "betraying Iran" and submitting to the wishes of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he described as a "criminal" wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Araghchi stressed that his country reserves its legitimate right to self-defense, in accordance with the UN Charter, and asserted that Iran has multiple options for responding, without disclosing any details.
He also affirmed Tehran's commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while noting that this treaty "provides no protection" against military attacks.
The Iranian Foreign Minister affirmed that his country will not compromise its sovereignty and will continue to defend its land and people by all possible means, calling on the international community to condemn what he described as "nuclear aggression by a superpower and a regime armed with nuclear weapons."
Back to negotiations
In a related context, Araghchi said that his country had not left the nuclear negotiations until it was asked to return to them, noting that Iran had been and continues to be engaged in diplomatic tracks with the relevant parties, including the United States, the three European countries (France, Britain, and Germany), and the European Union.
This came in a post by Araghchi on the X platform on Sunday, in response to calls from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas for Tehran to return to the negotiating table.
Araghchi noted that Israel was the first to obstruct the diplomatic process, followed by a similar decision by the United States, despite Iran's engagement in direct and indirect talks on its nuclear program. He criticized what he described as the "inverted equation" accusing Tehran of undermining the dialogue, asking, "How can Iran return to negotiations it never left in the first place?"
On Sunday morning, the United States joined the Israeli aggression against Iran, with Trump announcing the implementation of a "highly successful" attack targeting three nuclear sites in Iran: the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan facilities.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that US aircraft "dropped a full load of bombs" on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites before safely leaving Iranian airspace.
Since June 13, Israel has been waging an offensive against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, missile bases, military leaders, and nuclear scientists. Tehran responded by launching ballistic missiles and drones into Israeli territory, in the largest direct confrontation between the two sides.
