By Sama Marwan ,
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Thursday that Tehran was close to reaching a deal in the nuclear talks with the United States before Israel launched its attack, which he described as an attempt to sabotage the entire process.
In exclusive remarks to the BBC (English edition), Khatibzadeh added that Iran has been receiving indirect messages suggesting that Washington is not involved and will not intervene in the ongoing conflict. However, he said that statements by U.S. President Donald Trump are confusing and contradictory, and they indicate actual U.S. involvement.
He also stressed that Iran has had no communication with President Trump’s administration, responding to Trump’s claim yesterday that Iranian negotiators want to visit the White House.
When asked whether there is a path to ending the war, Khatibzadeh stated that Iran is merely defending itself, as it was attacked first, which led to the killing of hundreds of Iranian civilians.
The Iranian official continued:
“We are in a state of self-defense, and we will continue this defense until the aggressor learns the lesson that it is unacceptable to attack another country.”
It’s worth noting that Iran canceled nuclear talks with the United States last Sunday, affirming that it needed to respond to the Israeli attack on its territory.
