Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has always been open to diplomacy following U.S. and Israeli air strikes over the weekend that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several top military officials.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Araghchi criticized the timing of the attacks saying “This is the second time that we negotiated with Americans and they decided to attack us right in the middle of the negotiation.”
In response Iran launched retaliatory strikes across the Gulf targeting U.S. military positions which Araghchi described as defensive measures. He emphasized that “there is no victory in this war” and claimed that the attackers have “not been able to achieve their targets.”
Araghchi also stressed Iran’s commitment to maintaining peaceful relations with its Gulf neighbors. “We have no problem with countries on the other side of the Persian Gulf. We have friendly relations and good neighborly relations with all of them,” he said.
He made clear that Iran’s actions are aimed at the U.S. not regional neighbors describing them as acts of self defense and retaliation against American aggression. “We are not attacking our neighbors but we are attacking American targets,” Araghchi added reinforcing Tehran’s position that its military actions are targeted and defensive in nature.
