"We never asked for a cease fire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes," he said in an interview with CBS News.
He also called on the US to understand that attacking Iran will not lead to victory.
"I cannot mention any country in particular, but we have been approached by a number of countries who wants to have a safe passage for their vessels. And this is up to our military to decide, and they have already decided to let, you know, a group of vessels belongs to different countries to pass in a safe and secure [though the Strait of Hormuz]. So we provide them security to pass," he also said, commenting on the situation regarding negotiations with countries on the passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran was ready to make concessions during the negotiations with the United States on the Iranian nuclear program, proving Tehran has no intention to develop nuclear weapons, Araghchi said.
"One of the elements of a deal … dealt with the question of Iran's 60% enriched material, and I said- I offered actually that we are ready to dilute those enriched material, or down blend them, as they say, into lower percentage. So that was a big offer, a big concession in order to prove that Iran has never wanted nuclear weapons and would never want them," Araghchi said in an interview with CBS News.
The foreign minister added that currently there are no proposals "on the table" regarding the conflict in the Middle East.
"If any time in the future we decide to enter into negotiation with US or other interlocutors, you know, we may decide what to put on the table," he added.
Iran does not plan to retrieve its enriched uranium that lies under rubble of the nuclear facilities destroyed by the United States, yet could be retrieved under the supervision of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Araghchi also said.
"Our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubbles. Of course … there is the possibility to retrieve them, but under the supervision of the agency [IAEA]. If one day we come to the conclusion to do that, it would be under the supervision of the agency. But for the time being, we have no program. We have no plan to recover them from under the rubbles," Araghchi said in an interview with the CBS News.