Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during the 17th edition of the Al-Jazeera Forum in Doha on Feb. 7, 2026. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP)
Iran's top diplomat insisted on Feb. 8 that Tehran's strength came from its ability to “say no to the great powers," striking a maximalist position just after negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program and in the wake of nationwide protests.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with President Donald Trump, who bombed Iranian atomic sites in June 2025 during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the talks on Feb. 6 in Oman with the Americans as “a step forward,” Araghchi's remarks show the challenge ahead.
“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others," Araghchi said.
"They fear 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 secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is in the power to say no to the powers.”
While Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military program to seek the bomb up until 2003.
Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent, the only non-weapons state to do so.
It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks on Feb. 6, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”
During the Feb. 6 talks, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military's Central Command, was in Oman. Cooper's presence was likely an intentional reminder to Iran about the U.S. military presence in the region. Cooper later accompanied U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to the Lincoln out in the Arabian Sea after the indirect negotiations.
Araghchi appeared to be taking the threat of an American military strike seriously, as many worried Iranians have in recent weeks. He noted that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the U.S. “attacked us in the midst of negotiations."
“If you take a step back [in negotiations], it is not clear up to where it will go,” Araghchi said.
Netanyahu to meet with Trump about Iran talks
In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 11 about American talks with Iran.
“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles, and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement, referring to Tehran's support for militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
Trump and Netanyahu last met in December 2025.
