We were 48 hours away: Iran says Israel strikes derailed Trump-led nuclear deal

UPDATED: Jul 9, 2025 01:20 IST

Iran is still open to diplomacy, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on Tuesday, revealing that he and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy were close to a “historic breakthrough” before the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war.

In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, Araqchi praised Trump-era efforts and criticized the Biden administration’s approach to nuclear talks.

“In just five meetings over nine weeks, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and I achieved more than I did in four years of nuclear negotiations with the failed Biden administration. We were on the cusp of a historic breakthrough,” he wrote.

This statement suggests momentum may be building for renewed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Araqchi said they were 48 hours from a pivotal sixth meeting when Israel launched airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles on June 13.

Araqchi acknowledged having received messages indicating Washington may be ready to return to negotiations. He noted the US was one of six countries to sign a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, only to withdraw in 2018 under the first Trump presidency.

"Iran remains interested in diplomacy, but we have good reason to have doubts about further dialogue. If there is a desire to resolve this amicably, the US should show genuine readiness for an equitable accord," Araqchi wrote.

During a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night, Trump told reporters: "We have scheduled Iran talks, and they ... want to talk."

Witkoff then said the meeting would take place in the next week or so.

Trump told reporters he would like to lift sanctions on Iran at some point. "I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off," he said.

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