Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has blasted Washington’s reaction to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s extension of the hand of friendship to neighbors, saying that the gesture was almost immediately killed by US President Donald Trump. “President Pezeshkian’s openness to de-escalation within our region — provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People — was almost immediately killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, determination and intent,” Araghchi wrote in a post published on his X account on Sunday. He added that “If Mr. Trump seeks escalation, this is precisely what our Powerful Armed Forces have long been prepared for, and what he will get.” Araghchi noted that responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s exercise of self-defense will lie squarely with the US administration. The top Iranian diplomat highlighted that Trump’s week-long misadventure has already cost the US military $100 billion, in addition to the lives of young soldiers. “When markets reopen, that cost will balloon, and directly be transferred to ordinary Americans at pumping stations,” he said. Araghchi emphasized that Trump’s own National Intelligence Council, representing input from the 18 intelligence agencies of the US, determined that war on Iran is destined to fail. The Iranian foreign minister went on to state that he had warned Trump’s envoys that war won’t improve Washington’s bargaining position, wondering whether such warnings were conveyed. “The American People voted to end involvement in costly quagmires in the Middle East. Instead, they have ended up with an Administration that Netanyahu, after decades of failed attempts, finally managed to dupe into fighting Israel’s wars,” he said. Araghchi finally described the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran as “a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Fighters,’ and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last’.
President Pezeshkian’s gesture to neighbors immediately killed by Trump: Iran FM
