Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has disclosed the intense psychological pressure of negotiations with the United States, revealing he asked President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, whether he had ever conducted talks while fearing the meeting might be bombed.
In an interview with Iran’s Mehr news agency, Araghchi recalled asking Witkoff: ‘Have you ever been in a meeting where at any moment you think the whole meeting might be bombed? Have you ever been on the phone while you’re talking, you might, as they say, explode, be destroyed?’
Araghchi emphasized that despite the threat of US airstrikes, Tehran remained unyielding. ‘We stood our ground. You have to talk. You can’t threaten us and you can’t bribe us,’ he stated.
The remarks come as the US military has launched an eighth straight night of bombardments on Iran, following a fatal Iranian missile strike on a military outpost in Jordan that killed two US service members. A previously brokered ceasefire has effectively collapsed.
Drawing a contrast with South America, Araghchi declared ‘Iran is not Venezuela,’ rejecting the notion that Washington could capture one person and trigger the surrender of the Iranian leadership. The diplomatic channel between Araghchi and Witkoff opened during nuclear talks last year, with backchannel diplomacy spanning Muscat, Rome, Geneva, and Islamabad.
Article and image source: venezuelastar.com
