Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran is not seeking to end the war with the US.
“We are not asking for a ceasefire. And we don’t see any reason why we should negotiate with the US. When we negotiated with [the US] twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations,” Araghchi told NBC News on Thursday. “There is no request for a ceasefire from us, there is no request for negotiations from us, we have never sent any messages.”
Over the past month, US and Iranian officials had engaged in several rounds of negotiations mediated by the Omanis. After talks concluded last week, the Omani Foreign Minister said Tehran had agreed to concessions, and a deal appeared possible.
Two days later, the US and Israel attacked Iran. A similar scenario occurred before Israel attacked Iran in June.
Some reports on Wednesday said Iranian intelligence had reached out to the US via third countries. However, Araghchi’s statement directly refuted that narrative.
President Donald Trump has refused to rule out sending US ground forces to Iran. Araghchi said Tehran is prepared for an invasion. When asked by NBC News, he explained that Iran is waiting for the US to invade, and it would be “a disaster for them.”
He went on to say that Iran has no plans to attack the homeland. The Iranian Foreign Minister explained that the US military bases in the Middle East provide Tehran with enough targets.
