(22 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Istanbul, Turkey – 22 June 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister:
"Of course, the door for diplomacy should be always kept open. But this is not the case right now. My country has been under attack, under aggression, and we have to respond based on our legitimate right of self-defense. And we will do that as long as needed and necessary."
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister:
"Iran and he’s a committed member of NPT (non-proliferation treaty). But NPT is not able to protect us. So why a country like Iran or other countries who are interested to have a peaceful nuclear energy should rely on NPT for their peaceful activities."
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister:
"Well I’m going to Moscow this afternoon and I have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow morning. Russia is a friend of Iran. And we enjoy strategic partnership. And we always consult with each other and coordinate our positions."
++ENDS ON SOUNBDITE++
STORYLINE:
Iran’s foreign minister says diplomacy is not an option after a U.S. strike on its nuclear facilities.
Abbas Araghchi spoke in Istanbul to journalists Sunday.
He said while the "door to diplomacy" should always be open, "this is not the case right now."
The United States stepped into Israel’s war against Iran early Sunday by dropping a 30,000 pound bomb on an uranium enrichment site buried under a mountain, a risky gambit that aimed to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program after months of failed diplomacy.
The attack prompted fears of a wider regional conflict as Iran lashed out at the U.S. for crossing “a very big red line.”
The U.S. also fired dozens of missiles from submarines — launched without congressional approval — and President Donald Trump said in a televised address from the White House that the combination of strikes “completely and fully obliterated” three nuclear sites.
Hours later, Araghchi said the time for diplomacy had passed and that his country had the right to defend itself.
Iran is a close ally of Russia, and has actively supported it in its war on Ukraine, supplying it with attack drones.
Araghchi said he would be flying immediately to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin "and coordinate our positions.”
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed that attacks took place on the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz sites, but it insisted that its nuclear program will not be stopped.
Both Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the three locations following the strikes.
AP video by Mehmet Guzel
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