Iran is willing to pursue diplomacy while remaining prepared to defend itself if challenged, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, arguing that Tehran’s strength lies in its ability to remain steadfast under pressure.
“We are a man of diplomacy, we are also a man of war; not in the sense that we seek war, but … we are ready to fight so that no one dares to fight against us,” he said, according to Press TV, Iran’s English-language state broadcaster.
Araghchi made the comments in Tehran at the National Congress on the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic, two days after Iran and the United States held nuclear talks in Oman.
IRAN PUSHES NUCLEAR TALKS IN OMAN ON FRIDAY AGAINST INCREASING TENSIONS WITH US FORCES: SOURCE
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ahead of the US-Iran talks in Muscat, Oman, on February 6, 2026. (Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the talks in a post on
“It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and decisions on how to proceed,” the government report said.
It added that there is broad agreement to continue negotiations, although decisions on timing, format and the next round will be made after consultations in the two capitals, with Oman continuing to act as an intermediary.
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Araghchi said on Sunday that Iran views its nuclear program as a legitimate right and is seeking recognition of that position through negotiations.
“I believe that the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to resist bullying, domination and pressure from others,” he said, according to Press TV.
“They are afraid of our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers,” the top diplomat added. “The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is saying no to the powers that be.”
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President Donald Trump has expanded the U.S. military presence in the Middle East by deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer.
Other U.S. Navy assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are located along the major waterways around Iran, from the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
