ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said that Tehran seeks to reach a "reassuring" agreement with the US regarding the country's nuclear enrichment, asserting that US military bases in the Middle East would be legitimate targets should Washington strike Iran as in June 2025.

In remarks from an Al Jazeera interview posting on his official Telegram channel, Araghchi was quoted as saying that the resumption of talks constituted a "good start," but that much remains to be done to build trust.

The Iranian top diplomat led his country's delegation during indirect negotiations with the US side in the Omani capital of Muscat on Friday, marking a resumption of a dialogue that was broken in June 2025 when Israel launched a full-fledged attack on Iran that eventually saw US participation.

Long dubbed a betrayal of diplomacy by Iranian officials, Araghchi has repeatedly cited the attacks as a barrier to trusting any negotiating process with the US, demanding that "the negotiating process must be free from any threats or pressure."

"There is no possibility of attacking American soil if Washington attacks us, but we will attack their bases in the region," he said.

Araghchi further insisted that nuclear enrichment "is our inalienable right and must continue." The US has in the past demanded that Iran curtail enrichment entirely, a red line that Tehran has balked at, insisting that its activities in the sector are for peaceful purposes.

He further reiterated that Iran's ballistic missile program is "never negotiable" due to the weapon systems' defensive importance.

"The Iranian nuclear issue will only be resolved through negotiations," he continued.

Despite the indirect nature of the talks in Oman, as it was in previous bouts of negotiations pre-June 2025, Araghchi said that he had the opportunity to shake hands with the US negotiating team, which is spearheaded by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Speaking on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said, "Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We have to see what that deal is."

"We're going to meet again early next week. And they want to make a deal, Iran, as they should want to make a deal. They know the consequences if they don't. If they don't make a deal, the consequences are very steep."

The US president has repeatedly dangled the threat of military intervention, sending what he dubbed "a massive armada" to the region and mulling kinetic action in support of Iranian protesters, upon whom the government has launched a brutal crackdown.