'You can neither threaten us, nor bribe us', Iran's Araghchi tells US, Israel

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said during an interview that was released on Sunday that he resisted attempts by  the United States and Israel to bribe his country.

“In the negotiations before the 12-day war, they had come to bribe, not to bribe me, to bribe the Islamic Republic, saying we will do this and that, we will build this and that. I told them there that our enrichment is not for sale … I said there: no bribes and no threats. You have to threaten someone who is afraid,” Araghchi recounted.

Despite the conflict, Araghchi said there has been "no change" in Iran's policies or principles, adding that Iran’s “friends and enemies” told him Iran made the world realise that its “atomic bomb is the Strait of Hormuz”.

"I said there: no bribes and no threats. You have to threaten someone who is afraid."

During an interview that was released on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he resisted attempts by the United States and Israel to bribe his country. pic.twitter.com/BeVEG7hNW5

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 20, 2026