Iran is not sure that he can trust America after the Israeli attack, the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs told NBC News

Iran is not certain that it can trust the United States in diplomatic talks after Israel launched an air attack on the country only a few days before the negotiations planned with US officials, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday in an exclusive interview with NBC News.

Questioned by Andrea Mitchell of NBC News if an agreement with the United States could be concluded within two weeks recently given by President Donald Trump, Araghchi said that he belonged to the Trump administration “to show their determination for a negotiated solution.”

But he suggested that Washington was perhaps not really interested in diplomacy and had only used talks like a “cover” for Israel’s air attack.

During her briefing on Thursday, the white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered what she said to be a Trump message: “Based on the basis of the substantial chances of negotiations which may or may not occur with Iran in the near future, I make my decision to know or not in the next two weeks.” (Promising an action or a decision in “two weeks” is a common thing for Trump – he has done it more than a dozen times in the past two months – and he often does not do good.)

Israel, a closed American ally, launched the air strikes last week two days before a sixth cycle of negotiations between us and Iranian officials, with Oman intermediaries, was to take place. US officials said the administration was not involved in the Israeli military operation.

“So they may have this plan in their minds, and they just needed negotiations perhaps to cover it,” said Araghchi. “We no longer know how we can trust them. What they did is actually betrayal to diplomacy. ”

During the interview, which was conducted in Geneva after having interviews with the best European diplomats, Araghchi said that his government was ready to negotiate, but that Israel should first stop its air attacks against Iran.

“We are no longer ready to negotiate with them, as long as the attack continues,” he said.

Araghchi said Iran would not abandon the enrichment of uranium as Trump asked, and he said he had clearly indicated that American envoy Steve Witkoff.

“I told him several times that zero enrichment is impossible,” he said.

Each country has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, said Araghchi.

“It is an achievement of our own scientists. It is a question of national pride and dignity,” he said.

As for Witkoff, Araghchi said he seemed unable to deliver what had been discussed in previous meetings.

“I think he is a gentleman, someone you can work with, but unfortunately, he changed his words every time we met. So maybe it was because he couldn’t deliver what he promised us,” said Araghchi.

He added: “There is now a lack of confidence between us because he did not hold his promises and what he told us that we can do.”

He and Witkoff continue to communicate, however, he said.

“There are direct messages, indirect messages that we exchange,” said Araghchi. “And we explained each other to avoid misunderstandings.”

He added that “does not mean negotiation. They asked us to negotiate, but we only negotiate when it comes to negotiations and not dictation. ”

Araghchi also said that the bombing of Iran’s nuclear installations could not destroy the technical “knowledge” that Iran has developed in its nuclear program.

“Suppose they destroy one or two facilities,” he said. “We can rebuild them, because knowledge is here, technology is there. We have reached that ourselves, and technology cannot be reversed, cannot be destroyed by bombs. ”

If Trump decides that the United States strikes Iran, said Araghchi, his government reserves the right to retaliate, as he did against Israel.

“When there is a war, the two parties attack. It is completely understandable. And self -defense is a legitimate right of each country,” said Araghchi.

He added that “if the United States joins Israel in these attacks, we will do the same.”

Tackling the threat of Israel to target the Iranian supreme chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Araghchi said that such an act “would be the greatest crime that they can commit” but “they could not do it”.

The supreme leader, who has held power in Iran since 1989, is an unadorized Shiite religious who has an ultimate political authority in the Islamic Republic and can cancel the elected Parliament and the President.

Araghchi said Khamenei “has millions of followers, not only in Iran but in other countries”.

Trump said The United States knows where Khamenei is but does not plan to target it, “at least not for the moment”.

When he was asked if he considered Trump’s comments as a threat, Araghchi said: “I see him more as an insult. And I am surprised to see how the president of the so-called superpower can speak like that. We have always talked about President Trump respectfully.”

Araghchi added that it was “certainly not acceptable how he talked about our respected leader”.

To rekindle negotiations between Iran and the United States, Washington only has to tell Israel to stop its air strikes on Iran, he said.

“I think that if the Americans are serious to return to diplomacy, what he needs is only a Washington telephone call to Tel Aviv to stop everything,” he said.

“They can stop this process very quickly, then we will consider diplomacy again.”

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the possibility that the Iranian regime can collapse due to the effect of Israeli bombing. But Araghchi said Iran suffered a long war against Iraq shortly after the 1979 Revolution and persevered in the current conflict.

He said that Iranians have a long history of independence and that he hopes Trump “understands the Iranians and our pride and our dignity”.

“We are a big nation. We live … For thousands of years in this place. We have never been a colony of any other power. We have always been independent,” he said. “We are the cradle of civilization, Persian civilization. Thus, all these things cannot be bombed. ”

Araghchi is an experienced diplomat who was one of the best negotiators of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and the world powers. This agreement has limited Iran’s nuclear work in exchange for a relaxation of American and international sanctions. In his first mandate, Trump removed the United States from the agreement.