The foreign minister said he hoped the US government would choose the “sensible option” of dialogue after President Donald Trump threatened US intervention.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned the US that Iran is ready for war if the US wants to “test” after US President Donald Trump threatened military action in response to Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday, Alagussi said lines of communication with the United States remain open amid the unrest, but insisted that Iran now has “larger and more extensive military preparedness” than in last year’s 12-day war and stressed that his country is “prepared for all options.”
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His comments follow President Trump’s remarks on Sunday, as protests across Iran sparked by the economic crisis escalate into broader demands for regime change. The US president said he was considering “strong options” against Iran over its leadership’s crackdown on protests, including possible military action.
President Trump, who recently ordered the abduction of leftist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with the intervention of U.S. special forces, said talks were set with Tehran to negotiate its nuclear program, “but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”
“If the United States wants to try military options that it has experimented with before, we are ready,” Araghchi said, adding that he hoped the United States would choose the “sensible option” of dialogue and warned against “those who are trying to drag the United States into war for Israeli interests.”
In the interview, Araghchi cited the rising death toll and reiterated earlier claims that “terrorist elements” “infiltrated crowds of protesters and targeted security forces and demonstrators.” Iran has accused the United States and Israel of causing unrest in the country over the past two weeks.
State media have reported that more than 100 security personnel have been killed in recent days, but opposition activists say the death toll is much higher, including hundreds of protesters. Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify this figure.
The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday. The foreign minister said on Monday that he would work with security authorities to restart services. Monitor NetBlocks announced at 16:29 Japan time on Monday that Iran had been offline for 96 hours.
Araghchi told Al Jazeera Arabic that his interactions with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff “continued before, during and after the protests, and continue to this day.” He said ideas discussed with Washington were being considered in Tehran.
But, he added, “the ideas proposed by Washington and the threats against our country are incompatible.”
“We are ready to come to the nuclear negotiating table unless there is a threat or an order,” Arraguchi said, questioning whether the United States was “ready to engage in fair and just negotiations.”
“We will seriously consider this issue as soon as we are ready,” he said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if the US intervened in the current unrest, warning the US of a “miscalculation”.
In an interview with the Fox News program “America Report,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt on Monday accused Iran of sending a “completely different” message to the United States in private compared to its official statements.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the White House is considering offers from Iran for further military negotiations, even as President Trump considers attacking the country.
Last year, the United States bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
