Former Iranian diplomat Hamid Baeidinejad said Iran’s nuclear issue will remain a defining challenge for decades, arguing that uranium enrichment is a permanent feature of the country’s national and diplomatic landscape.
Speaking at a conference on “Nuclear Law in Peace, War and Post-War,” Baeidinejad said Iran’s nuclear file “has been with us for fifty years and will stay with us for another fifty.”
He described enrichment as “a very important national achievement” that cannot be separated from Iran’s future international relations.
He said reaching any new agreement on the issue would require long and exhausting negotiations, adding that “there is no easy or quick solution to such a complex international matter.”
Baeidinejad also said five rounds of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington over the summer failed to yield progress and that mutual distrust deepened after an Israeli strike in June.
According to him, “Iran’s only path forward is continued diplomacy, even if the process is difficult and slow.”
He called for international consensus to ban attacks on nuclear facilities, saying, “No one in Iran doubts that attacking nuclear installations must be absolutely prohibited and punishable under international law,” but acknowledged that building such a norm would take “years of study, debate and persuasion.”
Baeidinejad added that the 2015 deal’s snapback mechanism had been designed after lengthy talks to balance Iran’s demand for lifting UN sanctions with the powers’ insistence on retaining a safeguard. “More than a thousand hours of negotiations were devoted to this single issue,” he said.
He urged Iranian academics and research institutions to engage more deeply in nuclear law and safeguards, arguing that “we must become an active player in shaping global norms, not just a subject of them.”
The remarks came during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, where he said the session was held to brief diplomats on developments in New York and the reactivation of UN sanctions.
“Iran had sought a fair and balanced solution, but Western states responded negatively out of greed,” Araghchi said.
“Years of pressure had proven that there is no solution to Iran’s nuclear issue other than diplomacy...The snapback of sanctions, like military attacks, cannot work.”
All UN sanctions suspended under the 2015 deal with Iran snapped back into force on September 27, one month after European powers triggered the snapback mechanism.
The three European countries had weakened their own diplomatic role by resorting to pressure, he said
The Cairo agreement with the IAEA was no longer viable after the snapback, and Iran would redefine its framework for engagement under new conditions, according to the Iranian foreign minister.
Iran had demonstrated goodwill in its dealings with both Western powers and the IAEA, Araghchi said, adding that Tehran had “taken every step it could to reach a negotiated solution.”
“We showed goodwill through our cooperation with the Agency and our fair proposals. The West has no excuse to say Iran avoided talks, nor any justification for triggering the snapback mechanism… Iran’s position is now fully vindicated.”
The United Nations sanctions include restrictions on Iran’s nuclear and military activities, asset freezes on designated entities, and a duty to “exercise vigilance” when doing business with Iran.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement the reimposition of sanctions was unavoidable after Iran’s breaches of the 2015 nuclear deal, citing enriched uranium stockpiles 48 times above agreed limits.
However, the foreign minister said Iran had proved it seeks only to secure its legitimate rights while remaining open to any fair diplomatic path.
“The last time there was an attack, more than 120 countries condemned it because Iran acted wisely,” Araghchi said. “Once again, Iran has shown it is a smart player that will not surrender its rights.”