TEHRAN – A group of Iranian lawmakers has urged the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to confront Western powers from a ‘position of strength’.

The note, submitted by Mohammadreza Ahmadi, representative of Rasht, together with 48 other parliamentarians, specifically emphasized the need to adopt a firm stance toward European countries and, in particular, the United States, which the lawmakers described as a “criminal” power.

Araghchi arrived in Paris on Wednesday for discussions on a range of regional and bilateral issues with his French counterpart.

The MPs’ call comes amid ongoing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program. Earlier this year, Tehran and Washington were engaged in indirect negotiations aimed at reaching a new nuclear agreement to replace the 2015 JCPOA, which the Trump administration abandoned. Iranian officials indicated a willingness to reassure the U.S. that Tehran was not seeking nuclear weapons, provided that sanctions reimposed after Washington’s withdrawal were lifted. At the same time, Iran maintained that it would continue uranium enrichment.

However, those negotiations came to an abrupt halt on June 13, the day the U.S. supported Israel in launching a 12‑day war targeting Iran’s nuclear, civilian, and military infrastructure. A sixth round of talks, scheduled in Oman just two days later, never took place. In later remarks, Trump acknowledged overseeing the operation and told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he had done the “right thing.”