Iran will react immediately and decisively if its nuclear facilities come under attack, an action that could trigger an "all-out war in the region," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Friday.
Araqchi, speaking to Al Jazeera TV and quoted by Reuters, cautioned that any military strike by Israel and the United States on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would be "one of the biggest historical mistakes the US could make."
As a potential first step to build trust between the two nations, Araqchi suggested that Washington could release frozen Iranian funds.
"Iranian assets and funds have been frozen at various points by the U.S (which) has not fulfilled its previous pledges (to free them). These things can be done by the US administration in order to bring confidence between us," he stated.
In 2018, during his first term in office, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, reinstating strict US sanctions as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.
In response, Iran has taken many steps to scale back its compliance with the deal.
In its latest step to advance its nuclear program, Iran recently informed the IAEA of its intention to "significantly increase" its production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent.
The Biden administration sought to return to the 2015 deal and held indirect talks with Iran on a return to compliance, but those talks failed due to Iran's insistence on the closure of the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations of its nuclear sites.
Trump has pledged to reinstate his previous policy of using economic pressure as leverage to compel Iran to negotiate a new agreement addressing its nuclear program, ballistic missile development, and regional influence.
Top Iranian officials have become increasingly concerned that Trump might grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the green light to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Trump last week stressed, in an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
“The only thing I've said about Iran—and I want them to have a great country. They have great potential. The people are amazing. The only thing I've said about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon,” he stated.
Asked by Hannity if he trusts Iran to abide by a deal, the President replied, “There are ways that you can make it absolutely certain, if you make a deal, a certain type of a deal. And you have to verify times 10. Yeah. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
