Going to meet Putin tomorrow, says Iran's Araqchi following US bombardment 

The Iranian foreign minister says he will fly to Moscow today and have a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

“Russia is a friend of Iran and we enjoy a strategic partnership,” he told the news conference in Istanbul.

Noting that Russia was one of the signatories of the JCPOA, Araghchi said, “We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions.”

“I will have serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow and we continue to work with each other.”

In response to a question about a potential Turkish mediation to end hostilities, the Iranian foreign minister said he had “very productive meetings” with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I also had conversations with [diplomats of] other countries in the region. Some of the countries … such as Turkey are indicating they could mediate so attacks from Israel can stop,” he told reporters. “I do believe that I’m going to start some actions and discussions … to prevent this American aggression.”

The Iranian foreign minister says it is the responsibility of the “whole international community” to stop US threats against Iran, insisting his country’s nuclear programme has remained entirely peaceful.

“Iran has done nothing wrong. We do not understand why Iran should be attacked for a false accusation that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons,” he said, noting that it was the US that tore up the previous nuclear agreement and interrupted the latest round of talks with military strikes.

“It’s up to the international community to condemn this, to prevent this,” Araghchi added. “Otherwise, there will be nothing left of international law.”

He added the Iranian people are “united and in solidarity with the government, and we stand firm against any aggression”.

Asked what would be the conditions for Iran to come back to the negotiations after the US attack, the Iranian foreign minister said it is “irrelevant” to ask Iran to return to diplomacy.

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“We were in the middle of diplomacy. We were in the middle of talks with the United States when Israelis blew it up,” Araghchi said.

“And again, we were in the middle of talks and negotiation with Europeans [that] happened only two days ago in Geneva, when this time, Americans decided to blow it up.

“So it was not Iran, but the US who betrayed diplomacy. They betrayed negotiations,” he said. “I think they have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force. And this is very unfortunate.”

Asked whether there is still room for diplomacy after the US attack, Araghchi said “not right now”.

“The door for diplomacy should always stay open, but this is not the case right now,” the Iranian foreign minister said. “My country has been under attack, under aggression, and we have to respond based on our legitimate right to self defence.”

The US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, he said, “is an unforgivable violation of international law”.

It is worth mentioning here that President Donald Trump said the US military has carried out a “very successful attack” on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”

Trump added that “all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.”

Donald Trump’s announcement came just two days after he said he would decide “within two weeks” whether to join key ally Israel in attacking Iran.

Earlier on Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers — which carry so-called “bunker buster” bombs — were headed out of the United States.

Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved.

Tehran had threatened reprisals on US forces in the Middle East if Trump attacked but the US president called for “peace.”

“There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he said.