Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi lashed out strongly on Saturday in reply to comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump, calling them "disrespectful and unacceptable." Trump's recent remarks indicated he had saved Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from assassination.
Gripping to the social media site X, Araghchi penned, "If President Trump is serious about making a deal, he should drop the disrespectful and unacceptable rhetoric toward Iran's Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of warm-hearted supporters."
He went on to say, "The Great and Powerful Iranian People, who demonstrated to the world that the Israeli regime HAD NO ALTERNATIVE but to RUN to 'Daddy' to prevent their annihilation by our Missiles, don't cotton to Threats and Insults.
The biting exchange follows US airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend. As much as the overall success of the attacks is disputed, the assault is Washington's entry point into Israel's sustained attack on Iran's nuclear installations in an ongoing conflict that was ignited on June 13 and has now extended to almost two weeks.
Araghchi’s condemnation was triggered by Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform, where the former president claimed to have personally prevented an attack on Khamenei, alleging that he had knowledge of the Supreme Leader’s whereabouts but opted against allowing Israeli or American forces to target him.
"I KNEW EXACTLY where he was hidden, and would not allow Israel, or the U.S. Military, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, end his life," Trump asserted. "I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND EMBARRASSING DEATH, and he doesn't have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!'
Trump also said that he recently had been negotiating an easing of U.S. sanctions against Iran—one of Tehran's main demands during the nuclear dispute—but said Iran's brutal reaction caused him to drop any efforts on that topic.
"But no, instead I get hit with a statement of hatred, anger, and disgust, and immediately ceased all work on sanction relief, and more," Trump stated, calling on Iran to come back to the negotiating table.
Yet Iranian officials have rejected the possibility of negotiations with the United States resuming. This follows Trump's assertion that talks between the two countries were scheduled to resume as early as next week.
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