Iran’s mission to the United Nations on Tuesday strongly criticized comments made by US President Donald Trump, who suggested that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons could be achieved either through negotiations or military action, AFP reported.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump stated that he saw two possible ways to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons: "with bombs or with a written piece of paper."
"I'd much rather do a deal that's not gonna hurt them," he added. "I'd love to make a deal with them without bombing them."
In response, Iran submitted a formal letter of protest to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, denouncing Trump’s remarks as "deeply alarming and irresponsible."
"These reckless and inflammatory statements flagrantly violate international law and the UN Charter, particularly Article 2(4), which prohibits threats or use of force against sovereign states," said Iran's head of mission, Saeed Iravani, in the letter published by the official IRNA news agency.
He also warned that "any act of aggression will have severe consequences, for which the United States will bear full responsibility."
In the letter, Iravani also condemned the US policy, arguing that it "reinforces unlawful, unilateral coercive measures and escalates hostility against Iran."
In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, reinstating strict US sanctions as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.
In response, Iran has taken many steps to scale back its compliance with the deal.
In its latest step to advance its nuclear program, Iran recently informed the IAEA of its intention to "significantly increase" its production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent.
In his second term, Trump has reaffirmed his “maximum pressure” approach against Iran, and this past week imposed financial sanctions on individuals and entities accused of facilitating the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil to China.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last week cautioned the government against engaging in talks with Washington, describing such a move as “reckless.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made clear on Saturday that Iran is open to negotiations with the United States but not under Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy.
“The lifting of sanctions requires negotiations, but not within the framework of a ‘maximum pressure’ policy, because it would not be a negotiation but a form of surrender,” Araqchi stated in a message published on Telegram.