Foreign Minister Araghchi: Negotiations With the U.S. Not a “Positive Experience”

Recent statements by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggest that neither Washington nor Tehran is in any rush to return to the negotiating table, leaving U.S.-Iranian relations in a state of limbo. 

• November 6: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Fars News Agency quoted an address Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made to a group of university students during a visit to Hamadan province: 

• • “We negotiated and agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in good faith, and, despite all differences of opinion, the agreement was approved by the Parliament and Supreme National Security Council. We also implemented everything in good faith. And what happened? The United States withdrew from it.” 

• • “In the recent period, we entered negotiations and held five rounds of talks; the same was true in New York regarding the snapback issue. Of course, we have never had any positive experience in negotiating with the United States.” 

• • “We have repeatedly said that we are ready to negotiate but not to listen to orders and have terms dictated to us by the other side.” 

• • Addressing critics of the JCPOA within Iran, Araghchi said: “The JCPOA kept the country away from those resolutions for at least 10 years. Now, you may object and ask why it did not become permanent or why it was not extended to 20 years. Yes, such objections could be valid. But let us pay attention to what we are arguing about. Besides, all of that is in the past, and it was the United States that betrayed the negotiations and then went on to start the war.” 

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