Iran’s foreign minister said in an interview on Tuesday that Iran is preparing for a war that will last “at least six months” as President Trump insists the war could be over within two to three weeks.
Abbas Aragushi told Al Jazeera: “We have not set a deadline for defending our country. We will protect our country and our people by any means necessary, as long as it is necessary.”
“It doesn’t matter what schedule the enemy sets, but our recommendation is to end this war completely and permanently before they face further damage,” he said, noting that ending the war must include peace across the region.
Araghchi said the Iranian government is not negotiating directly with the United States, despite President Trump’s claims that the United States is in “serious talks” with Iran’s “new, more rational regime.”
“Negotiation is when two countries talk to reach an agreement, and there is no such thing between the United States and the United States,” Araghchi said.
However, Araghchi said he received a message from Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for the Middle East, saying the US and Iran have been communicating indirectly through intermediaries.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on Tuesday night that “messages are being exchanged” with Iran and that “there is a possibility that we may have a face-to-face meeting at some point.”
Araghchi said Iran had not responded to the 15-point offer from the United States, contradicting President Trump’s claim on Sunday that Iran had agreed to “most” of the list of demands the United States had handed down to end the war. An Iranian spokesperson on Monday denounced the demands as “grossly excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable.”
“The US president needs to fundamentally change his approach,” Aragushi told Al Jazeera. “We cannot speak to the Iranian people in terms of threats and deadlines.”
