Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to a question in a joint press briefing with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi after their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi,File)2026-02-08T08:07:19Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Irans top diplomat insisted Sunday that Tehrans 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 during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the talks Friday in Oman with the Americans as a step forward, Araghchis remarks show the challenge ahead. Already, the U.S. moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so. I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Irans 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 Republics power is in the power to say no to the powers. Atomic bomb as rhetorical deviceAraghchis choice to explicitly use an atomic bomb as a rhetorical device likely wasnt accidental. 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% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%, the only non-weapons state to do so. Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldnt build one. Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khameneis blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks. The Iran-U.S. talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward, the president wrote. Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. ... The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly as they should. Aircraft carrier in the Arabian SeaDuring Fridays talks, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American militarys Central Command, was in Oman. Coopers 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, Trumps 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. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto