Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that US intervention in the conflict with Israel would be “very dangerous” for all parties involved.
It would be “very regrettable” and “very dangerous for everybody” if US forces were to join the “aggression” against Iran, Araghchi told reporters on Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, according to broadcaster Al Jazeera.
Tehran has “unfortunately” come to the conclusion that the US was involved in the large-scale Israeli attacks launched last week from the outset, Iran’s top diplomat said.
While Araghchi noted that the US government rejected the accusations, he claimed that Iran saw many indications that Washington was involved from day one.
The US military has supported Israel in its efforts to repel Iranian retaliatory attacks, but Washington has so far not joined the strikes on Iran.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will decide within the next two weeks whether to intervene, in order to allow for talks.
Araghchi reiterated in Istanbul that negotiations to end the conflict are only on the table if Israel halts its attacks.
He was in the Turkish metropolis to attend a session of the foreign ministers’ council of the OIC, an association of 57 mostly Muslim-majority states.
The meeting began with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s opening remarks, which condemned Israel’s attack on Iran and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Just as the spark ignited by Hitler 90 years ago set the whole world on fire, Netanyahu’s Zionist ambitions today serve no purpose other than dragging or region and the world into a major disaster.”
Erdoğan further accused Netanyahu’s government as being the “primary obstacle to regional peace.” Araghchi is also scheduled to meet Erdoğan, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan separately cited an “Israel problem” in the region.
Meanwhile, Iran requested a special OIC session and a closed-door meeting will be held later on Saturday, Turkish foreign ministry sources said.
At Iran’s suggestion, the meeting was set to focus in particular on the Israeli attacks, Araghchi said according to the Iran Nuances news portal, which is close to the Iranian government.
He was also due to hold talks with official representatives on the fringes of the summit.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, hundreds of participants are expected to attend the two-day summit.
Among them are 43 ministers and high-ranking representatives of international organizations such as the United Nations and the Arab League.
The meeting comes one day after Araghchi held negotiations in Geneva over diplomatic solutions to the conflict with his European counterparts Johann Wadephul from Germany, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and the UK’s David Lammy.
