Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of attempting to sabotage the ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, warning of immediate retaliation to any military strike.

Araghchi said that Tehran was confident in its ability to counter efforts by “malicious external actors” to undermine the country’s foreign policy or dictate its direction, emphasizing that he expected his US counterparts to adopt a similar stance.

“Israel’s fantasy that it can dictate what Iran may or may not do is so detached from reality that it hardly merits a response,” the top Iranian diplomat wrote in a post on X on Monday.

“What is striking, however, is how brazenly Netanyahu is now dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran,” Araghchi said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments calling for the dismantling of Tehran’s entire nuclear program.

“There is no military option, and certainly no military solution. Any strike will be immediately reciprocated,” he continued.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said that the only “good deal” between Washington and Tehran would be one that dismantled “all of [Iran’s nuclear] infrastructure,” drawing a parallel to Libya’s 2003 agreement with the West, which resulted in the country halting its nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile programs.

Netanyahu also said he had urged US President Donald Trump to ensure that any nuclear agreement between the two countries prevents Tehran from advancing its ballistic missile program.

“We are in close contact with the United States. But I said, one way or the other, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” the Israeli leader said at a conference organized by the Jewish News Syndicate.

Tehran has previously rejected halting its uranium enrichment program, insisting that the country’s right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable, despite Washington’s threats of military action, additional sanctions, and tariffs if an agreement is not reached to curb Iran’s nuclear activities.

In his response to Netanyahu, Araghchi also accused him of misleadingly framing their talks with Washington as a revival of the JCPOA — a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that had imposed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.

“Conveniently, Netanyahu’s Allies in the Failed Biden Team — who failed to reach a deal with Iran — are FALSELY casting our indirect negotiations with the Trump administration as another JCPOA,” Araghchi wrote.

“Many Iranians no longer believe the JCPOA is sufficient. They seek tangible dividends. Nothing Netanyahu’s Allies in the Failed Biden Team say or do will change this reality,” he continued.

On Saturday, Washington and Tehran concluded their third round of nuclear talks in Oman, with discussions on technical topics like uranium enrichment and sanction relief.

As part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran — which aims to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon — Washington has been targeting Tehran’s oil industry with mounting sanctions.

“The talks in Muscat were positive and productive. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” a senior US official said in a statement sent to reporters.

Earlier this month, the two adversaries held their first official nuclear negotiation since the US withdrew from a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal. The second round of talks took place in Rome on April 19.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who is serving as a mediator between the two parties, announced that both sides agreed to meet again on May 3 in Europe for the next round of talks.

Despite Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapon development, Western states have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”