No trust in Americans, India can play a ‘greater role’ for peace in West Asia: Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

Amid the ongoing crisis situation in West Asia, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday, May 15, said the United States remains the primary barrier to peace in the region.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi following a meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers, Araghchi said, “Now, after 40 days of war, when the US became hopeless of achieving any goal in their aggression against Iran, they offered negotiation… We have no trust in Americans… This is the main obstacle in the way of any diplomatic effort. We have every reason not to trust Americans, while they have no reason not to trust us.”

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He said that India can play a “greater role” for peace in West Asia, highlighting that there was no military solution to anything related to Iran.

Araghchi noted that Iran was ready to help pass all vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but claimed that the situation is very complicated now. He asserted that the Strait of Hormuz continues to remain accessible to global shipping, with the sole exception of vessels from nations “at war with” Tehran.

“As much as our concern, Hormuz is open to all except those vessels of those countries who are in war with us,” the Iranian minister stated.

“We will welcome any constructive role by India,” he noted.

Araghchi has claimed that the US “couldn’t achieve any of their goals”.

“The current negotiation is suffering from a lack of trust. It is also suffering from the contradictory messages we receive from Americans. Every day is different from yesterday. A tweet today is different from yesterday’s… This is the problem, and it adds to the question of mistrust. We know that some spoilers try to derail diplomacy. The warmongers who want to drag the US again into another war. I hope that wisdom and diplomacy will finally prevail, and we go down the line of diplomacy to find a negotiated solution,” he stated.

He went on to say that the Chabahar Port is “one of the symbols of cooperation between Iran and India.”

“We are so glad that Indians played an important role in the development of that port. It is now somehow slowed down because of the US sanctions. But I am confident that this port would be like a golden gate for India to access Central Asia, the Caucasus and then Europe through this transit route and also for Europeans, Central Asians and others to access the Indian Ocean,” he said.

Araghchi hopes that India will continue to work in Chabahar Port so it “would be fully developed at the service of the interests of India and other countries around.”
“I think India, with its good reputation, can play a greater role in this region to help diplomacy and to promote peace and security. India is a friend to all countries in the Persian Gulf… We appreciate any positive constructive role played by India in this region,” he added.

Further, the Iranian minister believes that the mediation process by Pakistan “has not failed yet, but it is in a very difficult course, mostly because of the Americans’ behaviour and the mistrust which exists between us.”