Iranian Foreign Minister: We Don’t Need Anyone for our Defense

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said senior leaders remain alive and confirmed that Tehran is attacking American bases in what he described as self-defense, while signaling conditional openness to de-escalation.

Talking to NBC News Live, Araghchi said “Almost all officials are safe and alive,” adding that “We may have lost one or two commanders, but that is not a big problem.” He also stated that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian were alive.

Araghchi confirmed that Iran is actively targeting American military facilities. “We are attacking American bases in an act of self-defense,” he said. “We cannot just sit and watch as they attack us.”

He added that once “the aggression is stopped, we will also stop our self-defense.”

The foreign minister stressed that Tehran does not require external assistance. “For the time being, we don’t need anybody for our defense,” he said.

“We are capable enough to defend ourselves, and we will do that.”

Responding to rhetoric from Washington, Araghchi dismissed the prospect of political overthrow. A regime change, he said, is “mission impossible,” arguing that “You cannot do a regime change while millions of people are supporting this so-called regime.”

He also addressed U.S. President Donald Trump indirectly, stating: “The President of another country, no matter how powerful, has no right to decide for the people of another country.”

He suggested that “perhaps it was others who dragged the United States into this conflict for their own benefit,” without naming specific actors.

Despite the escalation, Araghchi left open the possibility of renewed diplomacy. “There is no communication right now,” he said, “but if the Americans want to talk to us, they know how they can contact me.”

He added that Iran is “ready for de-escalation,” provided that “the aggression should be stopped first - the attacks should be stopped first.”

At the same time, he underscored red lines on the nuclear file. “We are not giving up our right, including for enrichment,” he said, reaffirming Tehran’s position that uranium enrichment remains a sovereign entitlement.

Araghchi also made a historical appeal when he said: “We are a great nation with a great civilization; we have lasted thousands of years. We know how to defend ourselves, and we will survive.”