Araghchi on Future of Iran-U.S. Relations: “Managing Enmity”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s first televised interview served a dual purpose. First, it served to assure Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his allies, that the Cabinet does not intend to transgress redlines of the regime in negotiations with the United States. Second, it aimed to communicate to Washington that Iran is willing to manage its rivalry with the United States through diplomacy. Araghchi is also careful not to oversell what President Masoud Pezeshkian can achieve in his diplomatic approach to the United States: managing enmity, at best.  

• August 23: Araghchi said, as quoted by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mouthpiece Mashregh News:  
  • “As stated by the Leader, we prioritize our neighbors … Initiatives of Martyr Ebrahim Raisi’s Cabinet will continue under the new Cabinet. Latin America, Africa, and East Asia will be our second priority. Our third priority is countries that assisted us under the sanctions regime and with which we have solid relations, such as China and Russia – relations with whom are extremely important for us. As for emerging world powers, such as India and Brazil, relations with them are also of importance. Next comes an issue of lesser importance to us: European countries. We shall have dignified relations with them. If they abandon their hostile policies, they will become a priority for us.” 
  • Turning to the United States, Araghchi said: “We are not interested in enmity and tensions with the United States. The tensions are rooted in deeply contrasting views. This enmity must be managed. It is our duty to reduce the cost of this enmity and not allow an international consensus to be shaped against us … Besides, every threat can potentially be turned into an opportunity … Today, our country is in a more elevated strategic position than in the past.”  
  • Addressing the sanctions regime against Iran, Araghchi said: “Neutralizing the sanctions has the highest priority … We want to reduce the pressure from the sanctions and foil the sanctions imposed on us by our enemies … Our other mission is to remove the sanctions … We shall not waste even a single hour if we can remove the sanctions … But we will try to enter this field from a position of national consensus. If we reach consensus, the work will progress better. By cooperating with the media, Parliament, and particularly Islamic Republic Voice and Vision,” the official name of Iran’s government television and radio network, “we will try to reach consensus.” 
  • On future nuclear negotiations with the United States, Araghchi said: “I participated in six rounds of negotiations, which also continued under martyr Raisi, but we did not reach a conclusion. Reviving those negotiations now is not an easy job. International circumstances have changed. The war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza have completely changed regional circumstances … Within the JCPOA,” referencing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal, “certain deadlines have passed, and it cannot be revived as is under the present circumstances. This document must be renegotiated, but reaching a conclusion will be a very hard job … The circumstances in Europe are complicated, and the United States is entangled in an election. Nevertheless, we perceive it as our duty to remove the sanctions.” 
  • On the subject of Iran’s nonstate allies and proxies, Araghchi said: “We are not looking at the axis of resistance in the context of the enmity with the United States. The axis of resistance has a philosophy of its own … it will always receive support from Iran … What I am saying is that our enmity with the United States cannot be resolved. Therefore, our job is to manage it. There is no reason for the people to pay the cost of certain things, and it must be managed.” He continued, “Our support to the Resistance, and all groups composing the Resistance, is an immutable principle … In the field of diplomacy, some other countries are engaged in mediation,” in the war in Gaza, “but this is not enough … Cease-fire negotiations should not advance without attention to Iran’s and Palestine’s positions.”    

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