Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said negotiations with the United States were conducted under the constant threat of military strikes, revealing details of tense exchanges with Washington's envoys during peace talks earlier this year.
In a wide-ranging interview with Iran's semi-official Mehr News agency, Araghchi said he told US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, "Have you ever attended a meeting where there was a possibility of being bombed at any moment?"
He said Tehran had not been intimidated by American pressure, adding, "This isn't Venezuela where you take one person and everyone else gets scared and backs down."
'I asked Witkoff, have you ever been in a meeting where there was a chance of being BOMBED at any moment?'
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) July 19, 2026
Araghchi adds Iran wasn't scared by US threats:
'This isn't Venezuela where you take 1 person and everyone else gets scared and backs down' https://t.co/f8tvFK1SN4 pic.twitter.com/Selj3ZY1a0
Araghchi said the security lapse that allowed Israel and the US to strike Iran's leadership on February 28, an attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered the war, was "carried out through a security vulnerability, and this security vulnerability still exists."
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He said that upon learning of Khamenei's death, plans to close the Strait of Hormuz were drawn up "from the very first day," and that he had told regional foreign ministries, "We will strike US military bases; understand that this action is against America."
The foreign minister said he had still not met the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, "in person" since his succession, noting "only a very small number of people have met with him."
On the collapse of last month's ceasefire, Araghchi argued the US and Israel had made "two miscalculations: they started the war... they didn't account for the resistance," adding that Israel "thought that with a short attack, they could destroy everything," but "when that didn't happen... they were forced to stop the war."
US made 2 'miscalculations': 'they started the war… they didn't account for the resistance' — Iran's FM Araghchi
— RT (@RT_com) July 19, 2026
'The Zionist regime thought that with a short attack, they could destroy everything'
'When that didn't happen… they were forced to stop the war' pic.twitter.com/YSkmbN7xaw
ALSO READ: 'Hormuz Won't Be Safe For Passage': Iran Warns US Army To Prepare For 'Punitive Operation'
He claimed Iran's missile stockpile had been restructured so that "no matter how much we fired, our missiles would not run out."
Araghchi said talks should resume only "when you have the upper hand on the military front," stressing, "If we do not have the ability to achieve an absolute military victory, we must negotiate."
His remarks come as both Tehran and Washington have formally renounced last month's ceasefire agreement, with hostilities continuing across the region.
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