By Al Mayadeen English, Source: NBC News
Feb 28, 2026
Iranian FM Araghchi confirmed to NBC News that Sayyed Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are safe.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran is retaliating against US military bases in the region as an act of self-defense, vowing that Tehran will continue its response until the aggression stops.
“We are attacking American bases in an act of self-defense. We cannot just sit and watch as they attack us,” Araghchi told NBC News, adding that Iran is “ready for de-escalation, but the aggression should be stopped first, and then there is the possibility of talks.”
Araghchi moved to reassure that Iran’s leadership remains intact following the strikes. “Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive, as far as I know. All high-ranking officials are alive, everything is fine,” he said, acknowledging that “one or two commanders” may have been martyred.
Asked about whether Iran would call on its regional allies for support, Araghchi explained that “for the time being, we don’t need anybody for our defense. We are capable enough to defend ourselves, and we will do that. We don’t need the help of anybody,” he said.
A deal was within reach
Araghchi revealed that Iran had offered significant concessions to the US negotiating team just two days prior, during talks in Geneva. Iran had agreed to downblend its enriched uranium stockpiles “to the lowest level possible” and was ready to consider allowing US inspectors under a potential nuclear agreement.
“We made significant progress. We agreed to do enrichment only based on our needs,” he said, adding that Iran was prepared to “accept robust verifications and monitoring” and additional confidence-building measures to prove its nuclear program would “remain peaceful forever.”
He urged listeners to consult Oman’s foreign minister on how close a deal had been, saying: “I don’t know why President Trump just missed that opportunity.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who had been mediating the talks, echoed that sentiment in a post on X on Saturday. “I am dismayed. Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” he wrote. He urged “the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”
I am dismayed. Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined. Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further.…
— Badr Albusaidi – بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) February 28, 2026
Direct message to Trump
Araghchi pushed back firmly against Trump’s calls for regime change, calling it “mission impossible.” He pointed to the 30 million Iranians who took to the streets on the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, saying: “You cannot change this regime because it is supported by the people.”
He also noted that the US had tried regime change for 47 years through coups, sanctions, war, and terrorist operations, highlighting that “all of them failed.”
He also took aim at Trump’s call for Iranians to rise up against their government. “The president of another country, no matter how powerful, has no right to decide for the people of another country,” he said.
Araghchi said there is currently no communication with Washington, but left the door open: “If the Americans want to talk to us, they know how they can contact me.”
Earlier in the day, in a post on X, Araghchi also took direct aim at both leaders, writing that “Netanyahu and Trump’s war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate,” accusing Trump of having turned “America First” into “Israel First, which always means America Last.” He added that Iran’s armed forces “are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve.”
Netanyahu and Trump’s war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.
Trump has turned ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First’—which always means ‘America Last’.
Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve pic.twitter.com/xhiWydMyXy
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
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