Iran says it would resume nuclear talks if US guaranteed no further attacks – Middle East crisis live
Date: 2025-07-13T09:25:45.000Z
Title: Abbas Araghchi
Content: June attacks by the US and Israel on Iran struck but did not fully destroy nuclear facilities
Yohannes Lowe
Sun 13 Jul 2025 11.25 CEST
First published on Sun 13 Jul 2025 10.03 CEST
From
10.03am CEST
10:03
Welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East, with a focus on the prospect of US-Iran nuclear talks restarting.
According to state media, Iran's foreign minister, , said on Saturday that his country would be willing to re-engage in nuclear talks with Washington if there were assurances of no more attacks against it.
Araghchi served as lead negotiator in the strained nuclear talks with the US over the summer, which collapsed after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran's nuclear sites on 13 June, including at the key Natanz nuclear site as well as at ballistic missile sites.
Referring to the subsequent 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites, and the US airstrike on 22 June, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, then:
First of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.
Both Iran and the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June but did not destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, likely setting it back by a couple of months, according to an early Pentagon intelligence assessment of the attack.
The Trump administration, which claims that Iranian nuclear facilities were completely destroyed in the attacks, insists that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Following the airstrikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which led to the departure of inspectors.
Iran says it is not developing nuclear weapons and that its enrichment of uranium is for peaceful purposes.
Iran is maintaining a fragile ceasefire with the US and Israel but the risk exists of the crisis flaring up into further warfare unless a diplomatic agreement is found soon.
We'll continue to bring you the latest developments and analysis throughout the day, stay with us.
11.25am CEST
11:25
Patrick Wintour
The Guardian's diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, filed this report last week:
European nations will act to impose 'dramatic sanctions' on Iran in the coming weeks if it does not end the uncertainty about its nuclear programme, including by allowing the return of UN inspectors, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has warned.
He also told the Commons that Iran could not assume Israel would not strike its nuclear sites again.
His tough warning was echoed by the French foreign ministry, which is working closely with the UK in an attempt to persuade Iran to end its new ambiguity about its nuclear intentions and re-engage in talks with the US.
The UK, France and Germany – the E3 – signed the original nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 and according to its terms can impose 'snapback' UN sanctions without the risk of a security council veto, so long as they act by its expiry in October. Alternatively, they could table a UN resolution to delay the snapback by some months if Iran shows a willingness to negotiate.
The three countries are also using their power to reimpose UN sanctions as a lever to persuade the US to join the talks with the Iranians, but have so far had no success. You can read the full story here:
10.47am CEST
10:47
Israel claims it acted because Tehran was within reach of a nuclear weapon.
US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organised nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
10.38am CEST
10:38
During the 12-day war, Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and injured thousands of others in Iran, according to official figures.
As we have already mentioned, the war on Iran – cast as a preemptive attack for self-defence – was launched by Israel and later joined in by the US.
Israel claimed the attacks were necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the US government had assessed that Iran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes.
Israel has acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during its war with Iran, resulting in at least 28 deaths, but the true extent of the damage may never be known due to stringent media restrictions.
10.20am CEST
10:20
The Iranian foreign minister's comments about the possibility of restarting nuclear talks follow Donald Trump's Monday meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, where he reportedly said he was open to lifting sanctions on Iran.
Earlier this month, the US issued a new wave of sanctions against Iranian oil exports. 'I would love to be able to, at the right time, take those sanctions off,' Trump told a journalist at the White House on Monday night.
During the meeting with Netanyahu, Trump also said he 'hoped' that the US would not strike Iran again.
'They want to work something out,' he said. 'They're very different now than they were two weeks ago.'
Updated
at 10.24am CEST
10.03am CEST
10:03
Welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East, with a focus on the prospect of US-Iran nuclear talks restarting.
According to state media, Iran's foreign minister, , said on Saturday that his country would be willing to re-engage in nuclear talks with Washington if there were assurances of no more attacks against it.
Araghchi served as lead negotiator in the strained nuclear talks with the US over the summer, which collapsed after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran's nuclear sites on 13 June, including at the key Natanz nuclear site as well as at ballistic missile sites.
Referring to the subsequent 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites, and the US airstrike on 22 June, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, then:
First of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.
Both Iran and the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June but did not destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, likely setting it back by a couple of months, according to an early Pentagon intelligence assessment of the attack.
The Trump administration, which claims that Iranian nuclear facilities were completely destroyed in the attacks, insists that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Following the airstrikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which led to the departure of inspectors.
Iran says it is not developing nuclear weapons and that its enrichment of uranium is for peaceful purposes.
Iran is maintaining a fragile ceasefire with the US and Israel but the risk exists of the crisis flaring up into further warfare unless a diplomatic agreement is found soon.
We'll continue to bring you the latest developments and analysis throughout the day, stay with us.
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