Iran does not seek war, but it is more prepared for open conflict than during last year’s 12-day war with Israel, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday.
His statement comes after several threats by US President Donald Trump to intervene militarily over an Iranian government crackdown on deadly riots shaking the country, which Tehran has argued were orchestrated by Washington and West Jerusalem.
“We do not seek war, but we are prepared for war, and we are even more prepared than the previous twelve-day war,” Araghchi told a meeting of foreign diplomats in Tehran.
“We are also prepared for negotiations, but negotiations that are fair, honorable, and from an equal position, with mutual respect, and based on mutual interests,” he said, adding that the talks must be in good faith and “not orders and dictations.”
The riots, which began in late December as protests over the sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial and the sanctioned country’s cost-of-living crisis, rapidly spread to multiple cities and escalated into the worst national upheaval in recent years.
“Terrorists” among the protesters torched dozens of mosques, medical, administration, and other buildings, and killed hundreds of civilians and security personnel in bouts of “ISIS-like violence,” according to Tehran.
The US and Israel had a “big hand” in orchestrating the unrest, according to Araghchi. Tehran recorded audio messages of orders received by armed agents in the crowds to fire on protesters, bystanders, and security forces, the top diplomat said.
Tensions between Tehran, Washington and West Jerusalem have remained high since last summer, when the US joined Israel in its conflict with the Islamic Republic and bombed key Iranian nuclear sites. Trump has argued that the attack preempted the development of a nuclear weapon by the nation – claims which Tehran has denied.
On Sunday, the US president hinted to journalists aboard Air Force One that his administration is considering an intervention in Iran, but noted that the Islamic Republic has reached out to negotiate.
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