Iran blames US for collapse of nuclear talks after airstrikes on Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan

Iran has dismissed international appeals for diplomacy, declaring that the US strikes on its nuclear infrastructure make further negotiations untenable and place full responsibility on Washington for the resulting escalation.

Speaking during a press conference in Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attacks occurred while diplomatic talks were already underway, making calls for renewed dialogue “irrelevant.”

Abbas condemned the airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo as “brutal military aggression” against facilities he insisted were entirely peaceful.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns, in the strongest terms, the United States’ brutal military aggression against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities,” he said.

“It is an outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.”

Blaming the US for torpedoing active negotiations, Araghchi said Iran had been engaging diplomatically before the assault.

Betrayed diplomatic engagement

“It is irrelevant to ask Iran to return to diplomacy, because we were in the middle of diplomacy. We were holding talks with the United States when the Israelis blew it up, and again, just two days ago, we were in negotiations with the Europeans in Geneva when this time the Americans decided to bomb our facilities,” he said.

“So we were in diplomacy, but we were attacked militarily. The warmongering, lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of aggression.”

Abbas said it was Washington, not Tehran, that betrayed diplomatic engagement.

“They gave a green light to Israel, if not direct instructions, to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities right in the middle of negotiations,” he claimed.

“This proves they are not men of diplomacy; they only understand the language of threat and force, and this is very unfortunate,” he said.

According to Abbas, the United States had shown blatant disregard for international norms.

“They have no respect for the UN Charter, no respect for international law, and no regard for the rules that govern global relations. There is no red line they have not crossed,” he said.

“The latest and most dangerous red line was crossed last night when they bombed our nuclear sites. It wasn’t just Iran’s facilities that were attacked; it was also the UN Charter, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the international legal order that were bombed.”

Review

Abbas said Iran was now assessing both physical and diplomatic damage, warning that the future of talks would depend on that review.

These were the first official remarks from a high-ranking Iranian official following the US airstrikes.

Iran’s leadership accuses Washington of colluding with Israel, which it described as “a genocidal regime,” to provoke a wider conflict in the region.

“This attack, carried out in collusion with the genocidal Israeli regime, once again reveals the extent of the United States’ hostility towards the peace-seeking people of Iran,” Abbas said.

“We will never compromise over our independence and sovereignty.”

He warned that Iran would respond using “all means necessary,” including invoking the right to self-defence under the UN Charter.

“Iran will continue to defend its territory, sovereignty, security and people,” he said.

Abbas also accused President Donald Trump of betraying both diplomacy and his own voters.

“President Trump was elected on a platform of ending America’s forever wars in our region. Yet, he has betrayed Iran and his own voters by surrendering to the demands of a wanted war criminal who manipulates US resources for Israeli objectives,” he said.

He warned that the strikes also violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and delivered a “devastating blow” to the global non-proliferation regime.

“The US act of aggression constitutes a flagrant breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force and guarantees respect for national sovereignty,” he said.

Araghchi called on the UN Security Council to urgently convene and “unequivocally condemn the criminal act of aggression,” while urging the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to hold an emergency session.

“We call on the IAEA board of governors to carry out its legal responsibility in response to this reckless U.S. attack on Iran’s peaceful nuclear sites, all of which are under full agency monitoring,” he said.

He also criticised the IAEA’s leadership, accusing its director-general of bias that “paved the way” for the current escalation.

In the US, President Trump hailed the strikes as a “spectacular military success” during a televised address and warned Tehran to choose peace or face “far greater” attacks.

According to the Pentagon, the US military targeted three nuclear sites using B-2 stealth bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles. A formal Pentagon briefing was expected later on Sunday.

Iranian state media acknowledged that Fordo had been hit, describing the damage as minimal.

“Only two tunnels at the entrance and exit of Fordo have been damaged,” a state TV presenter, who dismissed Trump’s threats as a “bluff”, said.