Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday that renewed threats of war from Washington will not change Tehran’s course, an approach the top U.S. intelligence official warns has grown more lethal to Americans abroad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed to resist pressure from Washington as political developments in both the U.S. and Israel ramp up pressure in the Middle East.
“Today, again war is being spoken about, but I am thinking about post-war status, whether a war occurs or not, our policies will remain in place,” Mr. Araghchi told a group of diplomats in Tehran.
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“Everything has changed in our region,” he said. “After the recent war, nothing will be like the past.”
Trump administration officials have said that Iran’s tactics are shifting. As American and Israeli politics begin to impact the course of the war, Iran has begun planning attacks on American officials abroad, according to a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton.
The memo, first reported by Axios, outlines growing risks to U.S. officials — a dynamic that analysts warn could lead to broader conflict. The most recent intelligence revealed in the memo says that Iran is in the “advanced stages” of planning attacks.
“Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel,” the memo reads. “The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries.”
Mr. Clayton wrote that the intelligence community is making “every effort to downgrade as much intelligence as possible so you can share it with State Department personnel” rather than keeping it highly classified.
In a Financial Times op-ed on Wednesday, Mr. Araghchi said that his government “seeks a just and honorable deal with the U.S.” but said his country has “no trust whatsoever in the sincerity of the U.S. administration’s professed desire for peace with Iran.”
Mr. Araghchi reiterated that Tehran is willing to work with its neighboring Persian Gulf states to reach a settlement to the conflict. Those negotiations may become more tenable as Iran looks to sue for peace via Saudi Arabia.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen have repeatedly attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in recent weeks. The airport reopened two terminals Sunday for domestic and commercial flights.
Houthi groups fired drones and missiles into the Saudi capital on Sunday that were intercepted by Saudi air defense systems, according to Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki.
Gen. al-Malki also said that 10 ballistic missiles headed toward the southern region of the kingdom were shot down. Houthi strikes have killed at least 17, according to local reports, with more than 300 wounded by the drone and missile attacks.
The Houthis have also put pressure on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in recent weeks, the narrow corridor out of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden servicing commercial traffic for much of the Arabian Peninsula.
“The reality is that Iran, simply by virtue of geography, will always have unparalleled leverage over maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr. Araghchi wrote in his op-ed. “More importantly, despite the hype about alternative routes, the waterway is irreplaceable for both the region and the world economy.”
“There is a way forward, but it can only materialize once the U.S. administration genuinely accepts that it has no military options,” he wrote.
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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