DUBAI – On Sunday, Iran’s leading diplomat emphasized that the country’s power stems from its capacity to “refuse demands from major world powers.” This assertive stance comes shortly after nuclear program discussions with the United States and amid widespread domestic protests.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, addressing diplomats during a Tehran summit, reaffirmed Iran’s determination to maintain its uranium enrichment capabilities. This remains a contentious issue with former President Donald Trump, who had previously targeted Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June.

Despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian describing the recent discussions in Oman with American officials as “progressive,” Araghchi’s comments highlight the hurdles that remain. Meanwhile, the U.S. has strategically positioned the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln along with additional naval and air forces in the Middle East, both to exert pressure on Iran for a deal and to prepare for potential military action if Trump decides to proceed.

“I believe the core strength of the Islamic Republic of Iran lies in its resistance to coercion and external pressures,” Araghchi stated. “While they fear our nuclear capabilities, we are not pursuing nuclear weapons. Our true power is in our ability to defy global powers. The Islamic Republic’s strength is in its ability to say no.”

Using the term ‘atomic bomb’ as a rhetorical tool

Araghchi’s deliberate mention of an “atomic bomb” as a rhetorical tool was likely intentional. Although Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, Western nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency maintain that Tehran had a structured military effort to develop a nuclear weapon up until 2003.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%, the only non-weapons state to do so. Iranian officials in recent years had also been increasingly threatening that the Islamic Republic could seek the bomb, even while its diplomats have pointed to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s preachings as a binding fatwa, or religious edict, that Iran wouldn’t build one.

Pezeshkian, who ordered Araghchi to pursue talks with the Americans after likely getting Khamenei’s blessing, also wrote on X on Sunday about the talks.

“The Iran-U.S. talks, held through the follow-up efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” the president wrote. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. … The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect, but it does not tolerate the language of force.”

It remains unclear when and where, or if, there will be a second round of talks. Trump, after the talks Friday, offered few details but said: “Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly — as they should.”

Aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea

During Friday’s talks, U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military’s Central Command, was in Oman. Cooper’s presence was likely an intentional reminder to Iran about the U.S. military presence in the region. Cooper later accompanied U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, to the Lincoln out in the Arabian Sea after the indirect negotiations.

Araghchi appeared to be taking the threat of an American military strike seriously, as many worried Iranians have in recent weeks. He noted that after multiple rounds of talks last year, the U.S. “attacked us in the midst of negotiations.”

“If you take a step back (in negotiations), it is not clear up to where it will go,” Araghchi said.