Araghchi says Iran ready for dialogue on credible guarantees but rejects coercion

MIDDLE EAST — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is ready for dialogue based on credible guarantees but does not accept coercion, according to a report published on 18 October by news.webindia123.com, citing Al Jazeera.

The report said Araghchi spoke at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers. It did not state where the meeting took place.

According to the report, Araghchi said the United States had taken a different path from dialogue. In the words attributed to him:

"The United States chose the opposite path: aggression, threats, assassination, and economic warfare, with blatant disregard for international law and the United Nations Charter." — Abbas Araghchi, Iranian foreign minister, as reported by news.webindia123.com citing Al Jazeera

The report said Araghchi added that Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation. It said he stated Iran will not give up its sovereign rights under pressure. He also said Tehran remains open to talks based on mutual respect and credible guarantees, the report said.

Other Iranian statements

The same report said Araghchi met Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on the sidelines of the OIC meeting, citing the Iranian news agency IRNA. According to IRNA, as relayed in the report, he accused the US of repeatedly disrupting diplomatic processes.

The report also cited Al Jazeera as saying Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran will not bow down to the excesses of what he called aggressor countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh spoke earlier, according to the report. It said he stressed that ending hostilities on all fronts was essential for lasting peace in the region. It said he warned that continued fighting in any area would prolong the wider conflict.

The report cited IRNA, which in turn cited Lebanon's Al Mayadeen television, as saying Khatibzadeh made further remarks on Lebanon. According to that account, he said Iran remained committed to ending the Israeli war on Lebanon. He said Iran had secured this aim in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, which Iran and the US signed in mid-June this year. He said Lebanon was among the key issues discussed between Iran and the US. He added that he had tried to bring the two sides closer during a visit to Beirut, the report said.

The report also stated that the Iranian parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi's appointment as the country's new defence minister. It gave no further details.

US response

The report said US President Donald Trump, speaking on Saturday (local time) at a campaign rally in Kentucky, expressed confidence that the ongoing war with Iran would end quickly. According to the report, he linked the outcome to domestic fuel prices and said the end of hostilities would bring energy costs down for American consumers.

"It's going to end very quickly. When it ends, your gas prices are going to be lower than what they were before," Trump said, according to the report, which was credited to the news agency ANI.

What is not confirmed

The report is the only source for these accounts. It relies on Al Jazeera, IRNA and Al Mayadeen, and Zenga News has not independently verified the statements. The report gave no response from the US government to Araghchi's remarks. It did not describe the terms of the Islamabad memorandum beyond the points attributed to Khatibzadeh. It also did not say what guarantees Iran would require.

Background

According to the report, Iran and the US signed the Islamabad memorandum of understanding in mid-June. The report describes an ongoing war involving Iran, and a separate Israeli war on Lebanon that Iranian officials say they want to end. It did not set out the origins or timeline of either conflict.