Larijani: Europe Wrong to Expect Iran Concessions

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that European governments are “mistaken if they believe they can extract fundamental concessions from Iran by imposing economic pressure and fueling internal crises.”

In an interview with Iranian state television, Larijani revealed that for the first time in history, Iran’s nuclear facilities came under attack during last June’s aggression against the country.

Despite the assault, he noted, Tehran “returned to negotiations, but Europe rejected every fair solution.”

He added that when European leaders speak about reducing the range of Iranian missiles, “their goal is the disarmament of Iran.”

According to Larijani, Western powers “feel they have little time to reengineer the balance of power in the region, in a process that involves erasing the resistance and installing 'Israel' as a dominant force.”

He stressed, however, that “’Israel’ lacks the fundamental elements of real hegemony.”

Larijani acknowledged that Hezbollah suffered a significant blow with the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, describing him as a leader with immense influence on the resistance. But he emphasized that Hezbollah’s ideology “cannot be destroyed with such strikes.”

“This is a movement rooted in the doctrine of jihad, and it will not stop with assassinations, just as Iran’s nuclear program did not stop after the bombing of facilities and the killing of its scientists,” Larijani said.

He concluded that Hezbollah has already rebuilt itself with strength, underscoring both the group’s and Iran’s capacity to recover from external assaults.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has categorically rejected attempts by Western states to reinstate sanctions that were terminated under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.

In a formal letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Security Council President Sangiin Kim, Araghchi described the move as “null and void” and condemned it as a violation of international law and the principles of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

Araghchi criticized the E3’s notification to the Security Council, calling it “legally and procedurally flawed.”

He stressed that the move ignored the JCPOA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism, violated the terms of Resolution 2231, and represented a broader political attempt to maintain pressure on Iran despite its adherence to international nuclear commitments.

The Iranian foreign minister accused the E3 of seeking to impose demands beyond the scope of the Iran nuclear deal, while simultaneously justifying “unlawful military attacks” against nuclear sites safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA].

He emphasized that invoking the so-called snapback mechanism was a “clear abuse of process.”

Highlighting the lack of international consensus, Araghchi pointed to the voting held on September 26, 2025, regarding a draft resolution introduced by the Republic of Korea. China, Russia, Algeria, and Pakistan opposed the reinstatement of sanctions on Iran, declaring the measures obsolete.

The abstention of other members, including South Korea and Guyana, further demonstrated the draft’s lack of legitimacy.

Araghchi also recalled the Security Council’s position in 2020 when the United States unsuccessfully attempted to trigger the snapback mechanism.

At that time, 13 Council members declared that the US action did not constitute a valid notification under Resolution 2231, and the Secretary-General declined to act upon it due to lack of consensus.