Iran Foreign Minister claims talks with US held under constant airstrike threat
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that negotiations with the United States took place under the persistent threat of military strikes. In an interview with Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, Araghchi revealed that he directly raised this issue with US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
According to Araghchi, he asked Witkoff: 'Have you ever attended a meeting where there was a possibility of being bombed at any moment?' The foreign minister added that Tehran was not intimidated by American threats, asserting, 'This isn't Venezuela where you take one person and everyone else gets scared and backs down.'
The interview also touched upon the February 28 US-Israel airstrike on a leadership compound in Tehran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other family members. Araghchi noted that the attack exploited a security vulnerability, which he claimed still persists. He said that from the first day after the strike, Iran had prepared to close the Strait of Hormuz if the supreme leader was targeted, and he contacted regional foreign ministries to warn that Iran would strike US military bases.
When asked about the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Araghchi said he has not met him in person since his coronation, and that only a very small number of people have.
Araghchi also discussed what he described as two miscalculations by the US and Israel: starting the war and underestimating Iranian resistance. He said Israel believed a short attack could destroy everything, but when that did not happen, they were forced to stop the war.
The claims by Iran's foreign minister come amid heightened tensions in the region and ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict. The United States has not officially responded to Araghchi's statements.
