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Aragchi: After de-escalation, Iran and regional countries should move to restoring trust

25 July 2026 12:51 (UTC +04:00)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi gave an interview to the state newspaper, commenting on the Islamabad Agreement and the developments that followed it, APA's Tehran bureau reports.

Aragchi said it appeared that the US side wanted to steer the situation back toward escalation after the agreement. According to him, Iran saw no signs of goodwill in the US behavior and viewed Washington's intentions with suspicion. Aragchi noted that the United States was introducing a new maritime route in the Strait of Hormuz and encouraging ships to use it, even though the route was longer, slower, and riskier than the route designated by Iran.

The Iranian foreign minister added that Tehran had repeatedly warned the United States through direct communication channels and via mediators such as Qatar and Pakistan, emphasizing that it would have been sufficient simply to wait for a certain period of time to assess Iran's commitment to its obligations.

Aragchi then said that the United States, through its own actions, had moved toward increasing tensions and that it was Washington that ultimately violated the agreement and led to the current situation.

Touching upon the situation in the region, the Iranian foreign minister said: "During the 40-day war, we targeted US bases in the region and even beyond it, as well as US military facilities and the locations where US forces relocated from their bases to other areas had gathered, and we believe that this step was taken entirely within the framework of the legitimate right of self-defense. We were defending ourselves and were forced to defend ourselves in the face of aggression. The situation is exactly the same now."

Aragchi said that Iran maintains continuous contact with the countries of the region and explains to them that Iran has no hostility toward those countries. He also noted that during the 40-day war and even afterward, some countries complained that their capabilities had been made available to the United States or had been used by Washington against Iran.