LAST UPDATE | 22 Jun

IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTER has said the US decided to ‘blow up’ diplomacy efforts with its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites overnight as world leaders have urged the country to enter negotiations with the US and Israel.

The EU had called for “all sides to step back” after the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites overnight. European foreign affairs commissioner Kaja Kallas urged Iran, Israel and the US to return to negotiations and prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

European foreign ministers, including Tánaiste Simon Harris, will be discussing the issue tomorrow.

US President Donald Trump announced “successful” strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities overnight, in a shock decision and major escalation in the war between Israel and Iran.

Israel launched its campaign against Iran two weeks ago over claims that the government there were developing nuclear weapons.

“Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, as it would be a threat to international security,” Kallas said this morning, before calling for diplomacy.

Other international leaders have called for diplomacy to prevail.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Iran to return to nuclear dissolvent negotiations with the US this morning. He added that Iran’s nuclear programme is a “grave threat” which the US military action would “alleviate”.

Responding to the EU and UK on X, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, referring to talks with German, French and Italian leaders, said: “This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy. What conclusion would you draw?”

He added: “To Britain and the EU High Rep, it is Iran which must ‘return’ to the table. But how can Iran return to something it never left, let alone blew up?”

Earlier, Araghchi condemned the US attacks on key nuclear sites as “outrageous” earlier. He said his country has a right to defend its sovereignty and that the US strikes would have “ever lasting consequences”. 

He told reporters in Istanbul, where he is meeting his regional counterparts, that he will today travel to Russia and meet with President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also called for a swift return to diplomacy after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran overnight. He said Iran must “immediately” enter negotiations with the US and Israel to find a diplomatic solution.

Iran has launched up to 30 missiles towards Israel this morning, targeting sites such as the Ben Gurion International Airport and military hubs. Three bombs made impact at residential sites in Israel, it has been reported.