Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Saturday, before the U.S. launched airstrikes on the country’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, that if the United States got involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, the result would be “very, very dangerous” for everybody. The U.S. launched attacks on Saturday evening around 8:00 pm ET.
“The tweets, interviews by the U.S. President, [it’s] quite clear that he’s talking about the U.S. leadership on these questions [of a potential U.S. involvement],” Aragachi told reporters, according to Time Magazine. “Unfortunately, we have heard that the U.S. may join in this aggression. That would be very unfortunate and I think that would be very, very dangerous for everybody.”
Trump had previously indicated that the U.S. was not involved in the Israeli strikes and that he was intending to give the situation two weeks, implying that U.S.-Iran negotiations were a possibility. Iranian officials replied that talks would not be helpful while Israeli attacks continued.
“In order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped,” Araghchi said. “I cannot go to negotiation with the United States when our people are under bombardment, under the support of the United States.”
Following Saturday’s U.S. bombing, Iranian officials said the country’s nuclear agency had already moved all relevant nuclear material from the three sites that were hit, according to MSNBC.
Trump has stated multiple times in the first months of his second term that a deal with Iran would have to include a ban on the nation’s enriching uranium—something that would allow them to produce nuclear weapons.
He has also called for something more permanent than a cease-fire.
“We’re looking for better than a cease-fire,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on June 17 as he left the G7 summit. “A real end, not a cease-fire. An end… giving up, entirely.”
Meanwhile, following Saturday’s U.S. air strikes, Iran has said all communications inside the country had been cut to avoid what officials have called “Israeli infiltration.” Per reports, chaos and insecurity have deepened on the ground among Tehran’s approximately nine million residents.
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