TEHRAN: Foreign Minister of Iran Seyyed Abbas Araqchi has warned that any Israeli military adventurism targeting the country’s nuclear sites would be met with a decisive and forceful response.
Araqchi has formally notified the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran will take special measures to defend its people, interests, and nuclear facilities, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
The foreign minister has written letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN Security Council President Evangelos C. Sekeris, and IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi.
The warning came after a CNN report on May 20, 2025, which quoted US officials as saying that Israel was preparing an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Abbas Araqchi reaffirmed Iran’s position that its nuclear program is strictly peaceful, a fact repeatedly verified by IAEA reports.
He also cited IAEA resolutions stating that any attack or threat against nuclear facilities jeopardizes the peaceful development of nuclear energy and creates risks that extend beyond national borders.
Araqchi further highlighted the threat posed by Israel’s nuclear programme to global security.
He called on the international community to pressure on Israel to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and adhere to international disarmament agreements.
The Iranian Foreign Minister warned that Iran would hold the United States responsible for any Israeli attack on its atomic facilities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States over the country’s nuclear programme are unlikely to produce any meaningful results.
“We don’t think it will lead to any outcome. We don’t know what will happen,” said Khamenei during a speech, adding that denying Iran’s right to enrich uranium was “a big mistake”.
Tehran and Washington have held four rounds of Omani-mediated nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two countries since the United States abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord.
A fifth-round is expected to be held on Friday in Rome.
Iran has repeatedly insisted its right to maintain uranium enrichment was “non-negotiable”. US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, speaking to US-based ABC News, said, “We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow Iran to have even 1 percent of an enrichment capability.”
