Iran FM says peace talks with US were held under threat of bombing
3 min readUpdated: Jul 19, 2026 10:32 PM Iran’s Foreign Miner Abbas Araghchi has claimed negotiations with the United States (US) were held under the constant threat of military strikes.
Araghchi, who is also one of the top negotiators in the Islamic regime, reportedly told US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff about the threats faced Tehran’s delegation during peace negotiations.
In a wide-ranging interview with Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, Araghchi said the security deficiency that allowed Israel and the US to attack Iran’s leadership on February 28, which started the war, still exs.
‘I asked Witkoff, have you ever been in a meeting where there was a chance of being BOMBED at any moment?’
Araghchi adds Iran wasn’t scared 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
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) July 19, 2026
Speaking with US envoys Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in February, Araghchi said, “I told Witkoff, ‘Have you ever attended a meeting where there was a possibility of being bombed at any moment?’” He further added that Tehran wasn’t “scared” American threats, saying, “This isn’t Venezuela where you take one person and everyone else gets scared and backs down.”
Detailing the US-Israel strike on the leadership compound in Tehran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other family members on February 28, Araghchi said the bombing was “carried out through a security vulnerability, and this security vulnerability still exs.”
US made 2 ‘miscalculations’: ‘they started the war… they didn’t account for the resance’ — Iran’s FM Araghchi
‘The Zion 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
— RT (@RT_com) July 19, 2026
Iran’s foreign miner, after learning of Ali Khamenei’s death in the attack, said that “from the very first day,” plans were already made to close the Strait of Hormuz if the supreme leader was targeted. “I immediately contacted the foreign minries of the region and said: We will strike US military bases; understand that this action is against America.”
When asked if he has met the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Araghchi told Mehr news agency that he is yet to meet Mojtaba “in person” since he was coronated after his father was killed in the strikes. “Only a very small number of people have met with him.”
America’s 2 miscalculations
Araghchi also talked about where the US and Israeli adminrations went wrong while the two nations launched their offensive against Iran. The foreign miner said America made “two miscalculations: they started the war…they didn’t account for the resance.”
“The Zion regime thought that with a short attack, they could destroy everything. When that didn’t happen…they were forced to stop the war,” he added, referring to Israel.
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