Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed on Friday that he was attacked in the office of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei when he was attacked in the first wave of attacks by the United States and Israel in Tehran on February 28, sparking a conflict in the Middle East.He said he emerged from the “ruins” worried about the fate of Khamenei, whose death Iran confirmed on March 1.Iranian News TV quoted Araghchi as saying: “The moment Khamenei was martyred, I was in the office that was attacked. The first thing I thought about and the most concerned about was the leader’s condition.”The Islamic Republic’s top diplomat further said he spent two days “uncertain” about Khamenei’s fate while overseeing the evacuation, adding that despite repeated suggestions to relocate, Khamenei refused.“I will not go to a shelter or a safe place unless every member of the Iranian people has access to a safe place… Whatever happens to my people will happen to me,” Araghchi quoted Khamenei as saying.Araghchi also pointed out that Tehran had previously warned Gulf countries that using US military bases against Iran would lead to retaliation.“If these U.S. bases were not located in Iran’s neighboring countries, they would not be subject to retaliation,” he said, criticizing the U.S. “security umbrella.”He added that local governments objected to the use of their territories, but Washington “continued to do so anyway.”He believes that Iran’s response caught “adversaries” including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by surprise. He added: “Despite the scale of the attack, no one expected Iran to take immediate and forceful retaliatory action.”In terms of leadership, Araghchi claimed that Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei now has full power. “Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei is highly influential and powerful in the current affairs of the country and has full control of power,” he said.Amid reports on Mojitaba’s condition and whereabouts, he insisted that communication with the new supreme leader remained constant and directives were carried out without interruption, describing national consensus as a source of “strength.”“The level of obedience and loyalty shown to the martyred leader is entirely consistent with that of the new leader of the Islamic revolution,” he said.The U.S.-Iran war has been on hold since Trump announced a ceasefire on April 8. However, the ceasefire remains fragile, with sporadic attacks, deadlocked negotiations and deep mistrust between the two sides threatening to undermine the arrangement.(With ANI input)
