Iran ready for de-escalation, warns US to face consequences
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (photo: Getty Images)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran is ready for de-escalation and talks with the US once the strikes stop. At the same time, he warns that Washington will have to pay a price for initiating the war.
Read also: US and Israel hit Iran hard: Is this a war to destroy the regime?
"There is no communication right now. But if Americans wants to talk to us. They know how they can contact me. We are certainly interested for de-escalation," Araghchi said.
He also claimed that Tehran does not want war, and that the US will face consequences for its choices.
"This is a war of choice by the United States, and they have to pay for that. But as far as we are concerned, we don't want war," the diplomat stated.
The minister added that Iran is attacking US military bases in the Middle East "as an act of self-defense," emphasizing that self-defense "has no limits."
"We are not, we are not the one who starts this aggression. It was the United States and Israel who started this aggression. So there is no limit for us to defend ourselves, but once the aggression is stopped, we would also stop our self-defense," he concluded.
Background
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched a joint strike on Iran to eliminate security threats. The attack came amid another round of failed negotiations with Tehran over the nuclear deal earlier this week.
US President Donald Trump has publicly confirmed that America launched the military campaign to neutralize threats from the current regime. According to Trump, the main goal of the operation is to protect the American people and their allies.
In response, Iran launched missiles toward Israel and struck US military facilities in at least Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait.
In addition, Israeli media reports suggest that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have been killed in today's strikes by the US and Israel. It is claimed that he has been cut off from communication, and his fate is unknown. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denies these claims.
