Iranian Foreign Minister accuses President Trump of betraying diplomacy following sudden air strikes on Tehran

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemns US-Israeli strikes on Iran as a "spiteful" act that destroyed advancing nuclear negotiations in Oman.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 4, 2026, 8:50 AM EST

Source: The information in this article was sourced from The New Region

Accusations of diplomatic betrayal

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp rebuke of United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday, alleging that the recent military offensive constitutes a betrayal of both international diplomacy and the American electorate. Araghchi argued that the administration treated complex nuclear negotiations like a "real estate transaction," leading to unrealistic expectations that could not be met. According to the Foreign Minister, the decision to launch air strikes was a result of the United States "bombing the negotiation table" out of spite after failing to secure a lopsided agreement.

Timing of the military offensive

The joint campaign by the United States and Israel, launched on the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026, occurred less than forty-eight hours after a third round of indirect negotiations in Oman. Prior to the strikes, diplomats from all participating sides had signaled varying degrees of progress regarding Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. The sudden shift from mediation to a large-scale military offensive caught many international observers by surprise, as the advancing talks had led to a widespread belief that the threat of a United States kinetic strike had diminished.

Conflicting narratives on negotiation failure

The two nations have offered starkly different explanations for the collapse of the diplomatic process. Iranian officials described the attacks as unprovoked and a total abandonment of the Omani moderated channel. Conversely, the United States has attributed the necessity of the strikes to Iran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment and its insistence that its ballistic missile program remain off the table. Tehran has consistently maintained its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program and views its missile capabilities as a non-negotiable component of its national self-defense.