Iran's top diplomat says nation's power lies in defying pressure: 'No to the great powers'

Iran is prepared to pursue diplomacy while remaining ready to defend itself if challenged, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday, arguing that Tehran's strength lies in its ability to stand firm against pressure.

"We are a man of diplomacy, we are also a man of war; not in the sense that we seek war, but … we are ready to fight so that no one dares to fight us," he said, according to Press TV, Iran's state-run English-language broadcaster.

Araghchi made the remarks in Tehran at the National Congress on the Islamic Republic's Foreign Policy, two days after Iran and the United States held nuclear talks in Oman.

Fox News previously reported that negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials in Muscat, the capital, were held face-to-face, marking the first such meetings since U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in June.

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Iran's Foreign Ministry described the talks as "intensive and lengthy" in a post on X, saying the meetings allowed both sides to present their positions and concerns.

"It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed," the government account said.

It added there was broad agreement on continuing the negotiations, though decisions on timing, format and the next round will be made following consultations in the two capitals, with Oman continuing to serve as the intermediary.

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Araghchi said Sunday that Iran views its nuclear program as a legitimate right and is seeking recognition of that position through negotiations.

"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," he said, according to Press TV.

"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 top diplomat added. "The secret of the Islamic Republic's power is to say no to the powers."

President Donald Trump has expanded the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer.

Other U.S. naval assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are positioned across key waterways surrounding Iran, from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.