Iran says West renewing nuclear talks push after 'failed' military strikes

Tehran, Nov 17 Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Western governments have renewed calls to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear program after "failing" to achieve their objectives through recent military action, media reported.

Araghchi said the appeals for dialogue were "natural" after Western powers "did not achieve what they were after regarding Iran's nuclear program through military attacks," adding that there is no military solution to the dispute.

He said Iran would not accept negotiations conducted through pressure, saying talks must be based on "reasonable and logical" principles rather than "dictating and bullying," Xinhua news agency reported.

Araghchi said the US and Israel had failed to meet any of their goals through the latest conflict, adding that while airstrikes could damage nuclear facilities, they could not destroy Iran's technological capabilities or the resolve of its people.

"Our facilities were destroyed, but our technology remains, and our will is even stronger," he added.

He said Iran has always been ready for serious negotiations under the right conditions, and reiterated that diplomacy remains "the ultimate solution" for resolving disputes in the region.

Iran and the US had held five rounds of indirect, Oman-mediated talks on the nuclear issue and US sanctions relief, and were preparing for a sixth round when Israel launched major airstrikes on June 13 on nuclear and military sites in Iran, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians.

On June 22, US forces struck the Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister on Sunday accused the US and several of its allies of trying to build a "force-based" international order.

Speaking at an international conference titled "International Law under Attack: Aggression and Defence" in Tehran, he said the current global environment reflects "anti-international law" policies advanced in recent years by Washington and its partners, a move in favour of a West-centered order promoted as a "rules-based" international order rather than a "law-based" one.

War and violence have become normalised in international affairs and some governments now rely on military force as a routine tool of foreign policy, he added.

The Minister said the US' "naked and reckless" use of force and its ongoing erosion of international law foundations amount to "the law of the jungle," adding that such an approach cannot endure.

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