Iran is prepared for “at least six months” of war, the country’s foreign minister said in an interview Tuesday, as Trump insists the war could be done within two to three weeks.
“We do not set any deadlines for defending ourselves. We will defend our country and our people as far as necessary and by any means required,” Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
“It does not matter what timelines our enemies set for themselves. However, our recommendation is that they bring this war to a complete and permanent end before facing further damage,” he said, noting an end to the war must include peace throughout the entire region.
Araghchi said Tehran is not in direct negotiations with Washington, despite Trump’s claims the US is in “serious discussions” with a “new, and more reasonable regime” in Iran.
“Negotiation is when two countries engage in talks to reach an agreement, and such a thing does not exist between us and the United States,” Araghchi said.
However, Araghchi said he has received messages from Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East, and that the US and Iran have communicated indirectly through intermediaries.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Tuesday night “there are messages being exchanged” with Iran and that there is “potential for a direct meeting at some point.”
Araghchi said Iran has not responded to the 15-point proposal by the US, contradicting Trump’s claims Sunday that Tehran had agreed to “most of” the list of demands the US conveyed to end the war. An Iranian spokesperson Monday lambasted the demands as “largely excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable.”
“The US president fundamentally needs to change his approach,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera. “One cannot speak to the Iranian people with the language of threats and deadlines.”
