Al-Arabiya interview with Mousavian, October 5, 2026
Key Points from Al-Arabiya Interview with Mousavian
- The current confrontation between Iran and the United States is no longer simply a nuclear dispute. It reflects a much broader geopolitical conflict that has evolved over several decades.
- Iran continues to support the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and has not introduced new demands beyond what was agreed. From Tehran’s perspective, the current impasse stems from Washington’s unwillingness to implement an agreement that it signed itself.
- Over the past four decades, Iran has repeatedly engaged in diplomacy—from cooperation in Afghanistan after 9/11, to the JCPOA, and most recently the Islamabad Memorandum. In each case, Tehran believes it was the United States that ultimately abandoned or undermined the diplomatic process.
- The principal obstacle today is the profound erosion of mutual trust. The U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, followed by its failure to implement the Islamabad Memorandum, has severely damaged Iranian confidence in American commitments.
- The military confrontations of recent years have demonstrated that military force cannot achieve political objectives. Neither regime change nor Iranian capitulation occurred, and the underlying conflict remains unresolved.
- Likewise, the policy of maximum pressure has failed to accomplish Washington’s stated objectives. Continuing the same strategy is therefore unlikely to produce different results.
- Military attacks against a country that remains a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has been subject to the most extensive IAEA inspections undermine the credibility of the global non-proliferation regime and send a dangerous signal to the international community.
- Iran remains an NPT member, and the IAEA has not presented evidence that Iran has diverted its declared nuclear program toward the production of nuclear weapons.
- Reports regarding the Kuh-e Kolang nuclear facility should be viewed in their proper context. According to Iran, the site was declared to the IAEA years ago and is neither a newly discovered nor a clandestine facility.
- The current U.S. military presence may temporarily safeguard maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, but maintaining such a massive deployment indefinitely is neither economically nor strategically sustainable.
- Lasting security in the Persian Gulf should ultimately be the responsibility of the eight littoral states, rather than external military powers.
- Such a regional framework should be built upon the principles of mutual respect, non-interference, confidence-building, maritime security, economic cooperation, and sustained political dialogue.
- Europe’s own experience demonstrates that even historic rivals can transform conflict into cooperation. The evolution from centuries of warfare to the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) offers valuable lessons for the Persian Gulf.
- A comparable collective security and cooperation framework among the Persian Gulf littoral states could provide the foundation for lasting regional stability.
- Future negotiations should not be confined to the nuclear issue alone. A comprehensive settlement should also address U.S.-Iran relations, Persian Gulf security, freedom of navigation, regional economic cooperation, and mechanisms to reduce mutual security threats.
- Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should take the initiative to convene a summit of the Persian Gulf leaders to establish a framework for collective security and regional cooperation.
- The Persian Gulf states should establish a joint regional military task force to assume primary responsibility for the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
- The Islamabad Memorandum offers the most practical foundation for restarting direct negotiations and advancing toward such a comprehensive agreement.
- If the war continues, Iran will neither surrender nor allow any foreign power to destroy its civilization or its national existence.
- Neither war nor sanctions can resolve this conflict. A durable solution requires comprehensive diplomacy, mutual respect, recognition of the legitimate interests of all parties, and the creation of a new regional security architecture based on cooperation rather than confrontation.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIu0lbBAICs