US joining Israeli strikes would cause hell, Iranian minister tells BBC

The United States that joins Israeli strikes would provoke “hell for the whole region,” Iran’s Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs said BBC.

Saeed Khatibzadeh said it was not “American war” and if US President Donald Trump gets involved, he will always remember him as “a president who has entered a war he does not belong”.

He said that American participation would transform the conflict into a “quagmire”, would continue to aggressor and delay the end of “brutal atrocities”.

His comments came after the Soroka hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack. The Iranian state media reported that the strike was aimed at a military site next to the hospital, not the establishment itself.

The Israeli Health Ministry said 71 people were injured in the attack on the Soroka Medical Center.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it had targeted Iran’s nuclear sites, including the “inactive” reactor with heavy water and Natanz’s installations.

Tehran did not update the victims in Iran of Israeli strikes in Iran.

The latest attacks take place at a critical moment. The White House said Thursday that Trump would decide whether the United States is going directly to the conflict in the next two weeks.

Addressing the BBC, Khatibzadeh insisted that “of course, diplomacy is the first option”, but said but although the continuous bombing “we cannot start a negotiation”.

He has repeatedly called Iran’s attacks on Israel “self-defense under article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations” and said “that we were in the midst of diplomacy” during a major climbing of the conflict on June 13, Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, killing several general nuclear and scientists.

The deputy minister for foreign affairs described the conflict as “unlike” and “useless”.

Responding to Trump’s repeated comments that the conflict could have been avoided if Iran had accepted a nuclear agreement, Khatibzadeh said they would negotiate until Israel “sabotaged discussions” by launching Iran attacks.

“We had planned to have the sixth cycle of nuclear talks in Muscat, and we were in fact about to reach an agreement,” he said.

“President Trump knows better than anyone we were about to reach an agreement.”

He also criticized Trump’s “confused and contradictory” publications and interviews, who said said “that the Americans were aware and participated” in the conflict.

The American special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi would have spoken several times on the phone since Friday, in order to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, Reuters reported.

According to three diplomats that spoke to the news agency and asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, Araqchi said that Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stops attacks.

Israel allegedly alleged that Iran recently “took measures to arm” its enriched uranium stock, which can be used for power plants or nuclear bombs. Iran has always said that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful.

Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – The UN nuclear guard dog – said that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% of purity – a short technical step in arms note, or 90% – to potentially make nuclear bombs.

“It’s a nonsense,” Khatibzadeh said in response. “You cannot start a war according to speculation or intention.

“If we wanted to have a nuclear bomb, we would have had well before.

“Iran has never developed a nuclear armament program for peaceful nuclear activities. Bottom line.”

The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said that nuclear installations “should never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as this could harm people and the environment.”

Khatibzadeh also discussed potential diplomatic channels after a G7 summit in Canada.

He said: “What we hear about Europeans is that they would like to return to diplomacy at the ministerial level”.

“They will have a meeting in Geneva and we are very happy that they end up talking to the table of problems to accomplish.”