Diplomacy is no longer an option, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon, in the wake of U.S. airstrikes inside the Islamic Republic.
Araghchi said that while the “door to diplomacy” should always be open, “this is not the case right now,” AP reported.
He told a news conference in Istanbul that there is “no red line” that Washington has not crossed in its recent actions against his regime.
“And the last one and the most dangerous one was what happened only last night, when they crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities only,” he stated.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, had called on “all sides” to the Iran war to return to the negotiating table following the strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
“Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, as it would be a threat to international security,” she said on Sunday morning, hours after the U.S. attacked the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites.
“I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation,” Kallas tweeted, adding that the foreign ministers of the E.U.’s 27 members would meet to discuss the matter on Monday.
In a separate statement on Sunday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Tehran to start nuclear talks with Jerusalem and Washington.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also urged Tehran to “return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis.”
“Iran’s nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the U.S. has taken action to alleviate that threat,” Starmer wrote on X on Sunday.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Saturday that the proposals put forward by European powers at talks in Switzerland were “unrealistic,” saying that if they stuck to them it would be difficult to reach a deal.
“The discussions and proposals made by the Europeans in Geneva were unrealistic. Insisting on these positions will not bring Iran and Europe closer to an agreement,” the official told the new agency after the meeting with Kallas and the top diplomats of France, Germany and the U.K.
“In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,” the senior official added.
In a statement following the Geneva meet, the Europeans reiterated “their longstanding concerns about Iran’s expansion of its nuclear programme,” which they said “has no credible civilian purpose.”
The four European diplomats “expressed their view that all sides should refrain from taking steps which lead to further escalation in the region, and urgently find a negotiated solution to ensure that Iran never obtains or acquires a nuclear weapon,” according to the statement on Friday.
Following a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris intends to “accelerate the negotiations led by France and its European partners with Iran.”
“Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and it is up to Iran to provide full guarantees that its intentions are peaceful,” he said. “I am convinced that a path exists to end war and avoid even greater dangers.”
Early on June 13, more than 200 Israeli fighter jets attacked dozens of enemy targets, including military and nuclear sites, in a “preemptive, precise, combined” opening strike against Tehran’s nuclear program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the operation would “continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” vowing to end the Iranian threat to the Jewish state’s “very survival.”
Netanyahu thanked U.S. President Donald Trump early on Sunday for his “bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States.”
“President Trump and I often say: ‘Peace through strength.’ First comes strength, then comes peace. Tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength,” the Israeli prime minister said.