Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has delivered a sharp warning to Israel, declaring that Tehran would “school" the country if it failed to follow the directives of its “master" — an unmistakable reference to the United States.
The remarks came in response to comments by Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death" and reiterated that Israel would not permit Tehran to develop nuclear weapons.
Reacting in a post on ‘X’, Araghchi shared an excerpt from Katz’s statement and wrote: “The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them."
“Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response", he added.
Israel Katz, meanwhile, characterised Iranians as “good merchants" who sought to “extract concessions in negotiations" with the United States. He maintained that Israel would not allow Iran to advance its nuclear programme.
The Israeli defence minister also cautioned that any fresh Iranian attack would be met with military action from Israel. “The defensive partnership with the US exists. But if Iran attacks, Israel acts with force. That is not conditional on anything. Trump is a friend of the State of Israel. In his worldview, he knows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are", he said.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the United States and Iran remain underway as both sides work toward finalising an agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war in West Asia that began on February 28.
In June, Washington and Tehran reached a 14-point preliminary agreement and launched a 60-day ceasefire period to facilitate further negotiations. Indirect technical talks between the two countries were held in Doha on Wednesday as part of the ongoing process.
According to Reuters, citing sources, U.S. and Iranian negotiators spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as well as the release of Iran’s frozen funds.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the next round of negotiations will be held after the July 9 burial ceremony of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on the opening day of the war.
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