Iran not sure it can trust America after Israeli attack, Iran’s foreign minister tells NBC News

Iran is uncertain if it tin spot the United States successful diplomatic talks aft Israel launched an aerial onslaught connected Iran lone days earlier scheduled negotiations with American officials, Tehran’s overseas minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Friday successful an exclusive interrogation with NBC News.

Asked by NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell if a woody could beryllium reached with the United States wrong the two-week clip framework precocious fixed by President Donald Trump, Araghchi said it was up to the Trump medication “to amusement their determination for going for a negotiated solution.”

But helium suggested Washington was possibly not genuinely funny successful diplomacy and had simply utilized talks arsenic a “cover” for Israel’s aerial onslaught connected Iran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had astatine a property briefing connected Thursday delivered what she said was a connection from Trump: “based connected the information that there’s a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality spot with Iran successful the adjacent future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks.” (Promising immoderate enactment oregon determination successful “two weeks” is simply a predominant happening for Trump — helium has done truthful implicit a twelve times conscionable successful the past 2 months — and helium does not ever marque bully connected it.)

Israel, a staunch U.S. ally, past week launched aerial strikes 2 days earlier a sixth circular of negotiations betwixt U.S. and Iranian officials on with intermediaries from Oman had been scheduled to instrumentality place. U.S. officials said the medication was not progressive successful the Israeli subject operation.

“So they had possibly this program successful their mind, and they conscionable needed negotiations possibly to screen it up,” Araghchi said. “We don’t cognize however we tin spot them anymore. What they did was successful information a betrayal to diplomacy.”

During the interview, which was conducted successful Geneva aft helium held talks with European apical diplomats, the Iranian overseas curate said his authorities was acceptable to negociate but that Israel archetypal had to halt its aerial attacks connected Iran.

“We’re not prepared to negociate with them anymore, arsenic agelong arsenic the aggression continues,” helium said.

Araghchi said Iran would not springiness up uranium enrichment entirely, arsenic Trump has demanded, saying “zero enrichment is impossible.”

“This is an accomplishment of of our ain scientists. It is question of nationalist pride,” helium said, adding that it was a close of each state nether planetary law.

The overseas curate besides said that Israeli bombing of Iran’s atomic facilities could not destruct the method “knowledge” that Iran has developed successful its atomic program.

Araghchi is an experienced diplomat who was 1 of the apical negotiators of the 2015 atomic woody betwixt Tehran and satellite powers. That statement imposed limits connected Iran’s atomic enactment successful instrumentality for an easing of U.S. and planetary sanctions. In his archetypal term, Trump withdrew the United States from the accord.