The United States and Iran started talks on Friday, February 6, in Oman for the first time since Israel’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June of last year, which the US briefly joined.
Published: February 9, 2026 12:10 AM IST
New Delhi: Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, on Sunday, 08 February 2026, ruled out Iran ever giving up uranium enrichment in its negotiations with Washington. He insisted that Iran will not be intimidated by the threat of war with the United States. Araghchi told a forum in Tehran attended by AFP that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the US side was taking renewed negotiations seriously.
Consulting with China and Russia about the talks: Araghchi
Araghchi said Iran was consulting with its “strategic partners” China and Russia about the talks. “Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour,” Araghchi said at the forum.
Referring to the arrival of the aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea, he said, “Their military deployment in the region does not scare us.”
United States and Iran started talks on Friday
The United States and Iran started talks on Friday, February 6, in Oman for the first time since Israel’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June of last year, which the US briefly joined.
Iran is seeking to have US economic sanctions on the country lifted, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme”.
Atomic bomb and ballistic missiles
Meanwhile, Western countries and Israel say Iran is seeking to acquire an atomic bomb, which the Islamic Republic denies. “They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday, 08 February 2026, denounced “the attempt by the most extreme regime in the world to obtain the most dangerous weapon in the world”, calling it “a clear danger to peace”.
In fact, the USA and Israel want the talks with Iran to not only to cover the nuclear issue but also include Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region. Iran has refused to include these issues in the talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, insists these two components be included in any negotiation, his office said Saturday, February 7.
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