Iran's Araghchi Accuses US of 'Economic Terrorism' at UN, Offers Seven-Day Hormuz Plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi used a press appearance at the United Nations Security Council to sharply criticise the United States and Israel, defend Tehran's nuclear programme and outline a conditional plan to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking in New York, Araghchi said that from the podium of the General Assembly the US president and Israel's prime minister had sought to "distort the facts and reverse the roles of victim and aggressor." He said Washington and Israel could not "whitewash" their actions against the Iranian people.

He accused the United States of using economic deprivation as a tool of collective punishment and political pressure, saying it was deliberately causing grave harm to Iranians and violating their rights to life, health, medicine and food. "This is not diplomacy. It is coercion and economic terrorism," he said.

On the nuclear file, Araghchi rejected renewed allegations about Iran's programme as political rather than technical or legal. He described the claim that Iran is on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon as a "big lie" first fabricated by Israel in 2003 and repeated since by the United States and European countries. He said Iran has been a faithful party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty since 1970 and has been under extensive IAEA monitoring for decades, arguing that Washington cannot credibly claim to defend non-proliferation while attacking safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities.

Turning to the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi said insecurity there and disruption to maritime navigation are the direct result of what he called aggressive actions by the United States and Israel. He argued that bombing a country, threatening its annihilation and imposing a maritime blockade cannot be expected to produce automatic security and navigation. He also blamed regional states that he said enabled the aggression by opening their territory, military bases, airspace and logistical and intelligence infrastructure to the attackers, in violation of good-neighbourliness and UN Charter obligations.

Araghchi said Iran has kept the door to diplomacy open and has negotiated in good faith over the past two years, but that the United States responded in bad faith with military aggression rather than diplomacy. Those experiences, he said, have created deep distrust about renewed negotiations without credible assurances against a repeat of such actions.

He said Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan under which the strait could be reopened and normal maritime passage restored if the necessary conditions are met. The choice, he said, now rests with Washington, adding that Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation and will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure.