Araghchi warns of stronger response, keeps talks open
Shafaq News- Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that Tehran would respond more forcefully to any renewed military action, while noting that diplomacy remained the only viable path to ending the war.
Addressing ambassadors, chargés d’affaires, and heads of international missions in Tehran, Araghchi urged other countries to engage with Iran and avoid involvement in further US or Israeli attacks. “We hope that the United States chooses the path of wisdom and rationality, but if it once again moves toward military solutions, we are more prepared than before and will take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves.”
He also rejected Washington’s expanding sanctions campaign, arguing that neither military nor economic pressure would force Tehran to change course.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently claimed that Washington was cutting off Iranian oil revenues, saying that Tehran loaded no crude onto tankers in September and predicting it would have “no oil on the water” this week. The Trump administration has also broadened sanctions against Iranian financial and industrial networks, including the automotive, rail, manufacturing, and steel sectors, under “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Iran loaded ZERO crude oil onto tankers in September. The Trump Administration is cutting off the Iranian regime’s most critical source of revenue. Operation Economic Outcast is severing the economic lifelines that have allowed Tehran to finance its terrorist agenda. https://t.co/p9VwpZYzCr
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 1, 2026
Despite the pressure, Araghchi reaffirmed Tehran’s willingness to negotiate, saying, “Only a solution based on negotiations, justice, fairness and dignified diplomacy can work and find a final solution to end this war.”
During diplomatic contacts around the UN General Assembly in New York, Iran presented conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz tied to commitments it expects from Washington, although Araghchi did not detail them in Sunday’s remarks.
Meetings with Gulf countries in New York, he added, had opened a “new path” toward greater regional trust and cooperation on peace and security.
On Europe, the foreign minister called on governments to reconsider their approach toward Tehran, accusing them of involvement in the US war against Iran. Citing remarks by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that up to 5,000 US sorties had been flown from European bases during the war, Araghchi urged European countries to clarify their role.
Araghchi also disputed claims that Iran had become internationally isolated, pointing to the delegation’s diplomatic engagements during the General Assembly. He dismissed US assertions that Iranian officials had been expelled from the United States, maintaining that they returned according to schedule.
