Continuation of Iran-US Talks Amid ’Israel’s’ Savagery ‘Unjustifiable’: FM Araghchi

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the continuation of indirect talks between Iran and the United States amid "Israel’s" savagery is “unjustifiable.”

Araghchi made the remarks in a phone conversation with the European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Saturday, a day after the "Israeli" entity launched deadly aggression on various civilian and military areas and residential neighborhoods in the capital, Tehran, and other major cities.

The barbaric onslaught claimed dozens of innocent lives, including a number of the Islamic Republic’s top military officials and commanders.

In a crushing response, code-named Operation True Promise III, hundreds of missiles were fired by Iran on Friday evening and successfully breached the "Israeli" entity’s much-touted multi-layered air defense system.

Since April, Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of indirect negotiations, mediated by Oman, over Iran’s nuclear program amid repeated shifts in US stances, which have prompted Iranian officials to criticize the “contradictory” statements made by their American counterparts.

Araghchi said on Saturday that messages and statements by the US president proved that "Israel’s" hostile measures against Iran were the result of Washington’s direct support for the entity.

He strongly condemned "Israel’s" violation of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, its attacks on nuclear facilities and residential areas, which killed a number of military figures, university professors and Iranian women and children.

He said the international community should show a decisive reaction in condemnation of "Israel's" aggression.

He added that the Iranian government and people seriously expect all countries that claim to support peace and the rule of law to denounce "Israel’s" criminal actions and to exert pressure on the regime to stop its aggression and lawlessness.

The Iranian foreign minister also criticized a resolution adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, drafted by the US and the European troika, against the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear energy program, describing it as an excuse that prepared the ground for the "Israeli" entity’s hostile action.

“Based on international law, the attack on peaceful nuclear facilities is completely illegal and prohibited and the international community is obligated to hold the Zionist entity accountable for this dangerous and unprecedented violation of the law,” Araghchi said.