Iran’s foreign minister said Thursday that Tehran is prepared for a possible U.S. ground invasion, delivering a defiant message as fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel spreads across the region.
Iran Signals Defiance Over Ground Threat
Abbas Araghchi, speaking by video from Tehran with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas, dismissed the prospect of American troops entering Iran. “No, we are waiting for them,” he said. “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”
He also said Iran has not sought a ceasefire despite continued U.S. and Israeli strikes. Araghchi said Israel, not Iran, had sought a halt in fighting after last year’s 12-day war, when Israeli and U.S. forces targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
School Strike Deepens Civilian Toll Questions
Llamas also pressed Araghchi on the strike on an elementary school in Minab, one of the deadliest civilian incidents of the war. The U.S. military has said the episode is under investigation and has raised the possibility of an errant Iranian munition.
Araghchi rejected that suggestion, saying 171 children were killed and blaming American or Israeli forces. “This is what our military said. So it is either U.S. or Israel. What is the, what is the difference?” he said. Reuters has reported that more than 160 people were killed in the Minab school strike, though responsibility remains disputed.
Araghchi offered a bleak assessment of the war’s trajectory, saying “There is no winner in this war,” and added that Iran’s victory would be measured by its ability to resist what he called illegal aims. He also rejected an Axios report that Trump wanted a say in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader, saying that the decision belongs only to the Iranian people.
White House And Congress Stand Firm
The White House quickly pushed back. Spokesperson Anna Kelly, in a press conference, said Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks had fallen 90% because Operation Epic Fury was crippling its ability to launch and produce those weapons.
Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled House voted 219-212 on Thursday against a resolution to limit Trump’s war in Iran, a day after the Senate blocked a similar measure, signaling implicit congressional backing for the strikes that began last weekend.
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