Araghchi: The enemy requested a ceasefire, and we delivered the final blow

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister, recounted the events of the war launched by the Zionist regime against Iran.

He said: “When Martyr Haniyeh was assassinated, just the day before, Dr. Pezeshkian had been sworn in as President, but the ministers had not yet been appointed. I was one of the candidates for the Foreign Ministry. That same evening, the Supreme Leader held a meeting, as he usually does in times of major developments. I was invited along with members of the Supreme National Security Council and the President.”

The head of the diplomatic apparatus continued: “In that meeting, everyone agreed that a response was necessary. However, there were differences of opinion among political and military figures about the timing and manner of the response. Interestingly, the main hesitation regarding timing came from the military. The commanders believed that the attack should occur only when we are fully confident in our ability to defend the country afterward. Disagreement over timing and execution existed among both military commanders and politicians. In that session, it was decided that the military should first prepare to defend the country after the initial strike, and then the operation would proceed.”

The Foreign Minister added: “When Operation ‘True Promise 3’ was brought up, someone in one of the meetings criticized the delay in carrying it out and questioned why the President opposed it. In response, Martyr General Bagheri firmly addressed that person and said, ‘Why are you making such claims? I am responsible for defending the country, and the moment I am certain we can withstand the consequences of such an operation, I will act. I haven’t even consulted the President yet.’ He fully defended the President.”

Commenting on the Zionist regime's ongoing aggression, he said: “There was no direct call to me from the Zionist regime. During the war, a bombing occurred near our residence — the house across from ours was hit, but our security team apprehended the culprits. Several times on our trips to and from Turkey, drones hovered above us.”

Referring to criticism over why the Foreign Minister announced the ceasefire, he said: “I told some friends — don’t they ask themselves, if the Foreign Minister declared the ceasefire, why did the armed forces comply? Clearly, the decision was made elsewhere. Before the announcement, the Supreme National Security Council had approved a resolution that if the enemy requested a ceasefire unconditionally, we would accept. It was a very calculated and powerful decision.”

On the process of accepting the ceasefire, Araghchi said: “All Supreme National Security Council decisions are subject to the Supreme Leader’s approval before being implemented. At 1 a.m., I received a call that the Zionist regime was ready to halt its attacks from 4 a.m. Several countries were intermediaries in conveying this offer. I checked with the relevant authorities and then we announced that we do not accept a ceasefire or end to war — we simply said, ‘If they don’t strike, we won’t strike either.’”

The Foreign Minister emphasized: “When victorious, with your flag raised high, that’s the time to negotiate. We showed the world our power. Israel thought Iran would be finished within a week, but that didn’t happen. Within hours, commanders were appointed, and responses were delivered. The enemy requested a ceasefire, and we delivered the final blow.”

He continued: “There was a misunderstanding between me and the military. Our colleagues thought the ceasefire was effective until 4 a.m. GMT, so they continued attacks until 7:30 a.m. Tehran time. Another miscommunication occurred later that afternoon, but it was resolved with a phone call. On the first afternoon of the ceasefire, Israel claimed that Iran had launched missiles and violated the agreement, and sent their planes to retaliate. I immediately messaged Witkoff and told him Israel was making excuses, falsely accusing Iran of violating the ceasefire. I said if they took any action, we would respond instantly and more forcefully. Iran is not Lebanon. The model they used in Lebanon cannot be repeated here. You saw that Trump later tweeted to recall the pilots and stopped Israel — this further proved that everything was coordinated with the Americans from the start.”

Araghchi, discussing the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal), stated: “The logic behind the JCPOA was that Iran would build trust about its nuclear program, and in return, nuclear-related sanctions would be lifted. When Trump's America expressed interest in negotiating about our nuclear program, we agreed — saying we were ready to talk under the same logic. If the purpose of negotiations was to ensure Iran doesn't seek nuclear weapons, we were ready. We were willing to build confidence, but we would not dismantle anything.”

He added: “In the negotiations, they showed willingness on all fronts but insisted that uranium enrichment must stop. We completely resisted. Some intermediary countries proposed compromise solutions like a consortium. None of them worked. When they realized Iran wouldn't back down in talks, they turned to military options.”

The Foreign Minister emphasized: “When a decision is made to negotiate, it’s a national decision that must be carried out. To say the Foreign Ministry or foreign policy was deceived is incorrect — it was the country’s decision. The Foreign Ministry executed orders from the leadership. The system decided to negotiate, and we were tasked with implementing it.”

He concluded: “I believe not only did we not lose through negotiations; we gained a great deal. We proved our legitimacy to the Iranian people and the international community. Some might claim that if we hadn’t negotiated, there would have been no war. On the contrary — the war could have started even sooner.”

Araghchi also said: “Why were the people so united and cohesive during the war? Because they saw that their government did everything it could to prevent war and entered negotiations. It was the other side that pursued war. Our logic was strong, and this is reflected in the fact that over 120 countries supported us and condemned the attack on Iran.”

He added: “The military had to adopt a war-ready posture, which it did. The government also had to prepare for war, and it did. After the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh, Operation True Promise 2, the fall of Syria, and Trump’s election, we came to the brink of war three times. Both the government and armed forces were ready, and foreign policy was active. Through a strategy of fear and hope diplomacy in the region, we prevented full-scale war.”

Speaking about the recent war, he said: “Everyone expected another war after Operation True Promise 2. The Zionists warned that our response would be painful. Diplomacy is always the lower-risk, lower-cost path to achieving goals, and it must always be the priority. Israel is doing everything it can to drag the U.S. into war. When that happens, our missiles won’t reach U.S. soil — as I told some regional leaders — fortunately (or unfortunately), there are enough U.S. bases in your countries, and we’ll have to target them.”

He emphasized again: “In times of victory, when your flag is high, that’s the time to go to the negotiation table — because we’ve shown our strength to the world.”

Araghchi reiterated: “The Israeli regime thought Iran would collapse in a week — but it didn’t happen. Within a few hours, commanders were appointed, and we responded. The enemy requested a ceasefire, and we delivered the final blow.”