Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was observed during a press conference held at the Lutfi Kırdar Congress Center on June 22, 2025, on the sidelines of the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.
In a significant escalation, Iran’s chief diplomat issued a stark warning on Sunday, asserting that the United States and Israel have crossed a critical threshold by targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. He announced plans to travel to Russia for discussions with President Vladimir Putin.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated, “They crossed a huge red line by attacking (Iran’s) nuclear facilities” during a discussion at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul.
Just hours following President Donald Trump’s announcement that US warplanes had targeted three Iranian nuclear sites, the situation escalated as the Israeli bombing campaign against Iran’s atomic facilities entered its ninth day.
“The most dangerous incident occurred just last night,” Araghchi stated, noting that he was unaware of the complete extent of the damage inflicted by the strikes, which included one targeting the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.
“I currently lack precise details regarding the extent of the damages, but I believe it may not be significant…” “The attack that occurred last night represents a serious crime,” he stated.
“This action by the United States represents a significant setback for international peace and security,” he stated, asserting that Iran would protect itself “by all means necessary against… US military aggression.”
Araghchi announced plans to travel to Moscow on Sunday. On Monday morning, he is scheduled to meet with President Putin and discuss the situation in the region.
“I’m traveling to Moscow this afternoon” to engage in “serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow,” he stated.
In the aftermath of the strikes, Trump asserted that Iran “must now agree to end this war.”
However, Araghchi stated that any request to resume negotiations was “irrelevant.”
“It is crucial to remember that the United States, while engaged in efforts to achieve a diplomatic resolution, undermined those efforts by backing the Israeli regime’s initiation of an unlawful war against the Iranian nation,” he stated.
“We were engaged in diplomatic efforts when we came under attack…” They have demonstrated an apparent lack of diplomatic skills, indicating that they respond solely to the language of intimidation and power.
During the weekend OIC summit, Turkey issued a warning regarding the strikes, stating that they could escalate the Iran-Israel conflict to a global scale, potentially leading to “catastrophic” consequences.
Recent developments have the potential to elevate the regional conflict into a global crisis. The foreign ministry expressed its concerns in a statement, emphasizing, “We do not want this catastrophic scenario to come to life.”
