Exclusive: Iran reiterates peaceful nature of nuclear program, expects ‘win-win’ talks

Iran has never left the negotiating table on its nuclear program but wants to be sure that it is not a waste of time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Armenpress.

The foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that the Iranian nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

He said that the talks should be purposeful, result-oriented, and it should be based on a mentality of win-win solution.

The interview was conducted in-person in Tehran on 29.07.2025.

Baghaei also spoke about the Israeli aggression against Iran, emphasizing that it constituted an act of aggression under international law and the UN Charter.

Armenpress: Please tell us what is the post-conflict situation now in the region and what efforts has the government of Iran taken to overcome the consequences of the Israeli aggression?

Baghaei: Thank you. This was an act of aggression by every definition on the international law and on the Charter of the United Nations. It was an egregious violation of Paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter that prohibits the use of force.

So, in every respect, that armed attack against Iran was unlawful and criminal.  The important thing, other than being an unlawful act under international law, was the fact that the Israeli regime perpetrated this act of aggression in the middle of a diplomatic process.  We were negotiating with the United States. We were supposed to meet on 15 June, and just two days before that, they started this attack.  So that's why we call it a betrayal of diplomacy, and no one can imagine that the act of aggression could be done without the prior coordination and cooperation of the United States.  What we are doing right now is to use the momentum created by this unlawful act in terms of moving our nation closer together. So, it was a calamity. No one likes war. No one likes conflict. But at the same time, this act of aggression caused the Iranian nation to get united and to understand that Israel is their true enemy. And that makes us stronger and very much prepared and united to fight against any such future attacks. 

Armenpress: Is there a situation in which Tehran is willing to resume negotiations with the United States regarding Iran’s nuclear program?

Baghaei: We were negotiating. As I told you, we were in the middle of a diplomatic process. So what they did, they reduced the already zero trust between Iran and the United States into minus trust.  So, right now, there is no trust, literally speaking, because in a way, they abused this diplomatic process. But as we have always said, Iran has never left the negotiating table because we have full trust in the peaceful nature of our nuclear program. We are self-confident that our nuclear program is legitimate, lawful, and under the most robust IAEA inspection. And please bear in mind that right now, we are negotiating with the E3+EU.

Last Friday in Istanbul, we held another round of negotiations with the E3+EU. So, we are not afraid of negotiations, but at the same time, we have to be sure that these negotiations are not simply for wasting our time.  It should be purposeful, it should be result-oriented, and it should be based on a mentality of win-win solution.

Armenpress: And how do you assess the negotiations in Istanbul with E3+EU? 

Baghaei: I was not there, but I was briefed by my colleagues. They told me that it was frank and it was very straightforward, because we used that moment as an opportunity to remind Europeans that they behaved very bad during Israeli-American aggression against Iran.

Because it is the duty of every UN member state to take firm position in the face of an unlawful attack against another member state. This is the gist of collective security, which is in the Charter of the United Nations. So, they failed to do that. This was our minimum expectation that when they witnessed unlawful attacks by the Israeli regime against our peaceful nuclear program, they had to react. 

This was part of their general obligation under the UN Charter. It was also their specific commitment under the Charter. Still, JCPOA exists. And they, as participants with the JCPOA, they had to react. They had to condemn these attacks. They are part of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.  That resolution was adopted by consensus with the participation of the E3 in 2015. So, they had to react to this unlawful act by Israelis and Americans, but they failed to do so. Worse than that, some European countries, including Germany, they tried to justify this act of aggression. And this is absolutely unacceptable. So, my colleagues used that opportunity to remind them that they didn't abide by their legal obligation under the UN Charter to condemn an act of aggression. As far as the nuclear fight is concerned, they exchanged some ideas about how to resume negotiations, how to resume talks about two specific aspects of nuclear issue. One, removal of sanctions. Secondly, transparency measures by Iran to assure them that our nuclear program would remain peaceful.

So, basically, they went through different ideas and they agreed, of course, to meet again in near future. 

Armenpress: When will that meeting take place?

Baghaei: I don't know. They are in contact. They have not fixed any particular date yet, but I'm sure it will not be too long from now. 

Armenpress: Do you see a risk that military actions against Iran could resume?

Baghaei: You see, we have to prepare. We understand that the Israeli regime's basic, the very establishment was on terror campaign and war. So, if you go through the history of the Israeli regime for the past eight decades, they have not hesitated to launch war and aggression against the states of the region.

So, we have learned by experience that we have to be ready for any scenario at any time.