Iran's foreign minister warned Wednesday that Tehran would respond forcefully to any threat against the country's leadership, after Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran's supreme leader was “marked for death.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's comments came in response to remarks by Katz, who said Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “a dead man.”
“The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see,” Araghchi wrote on X, referring to a framework agreement between Tehran and Washington to end the war. “POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them. Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response.”
Speaking to ynet on Monday, Katz said Iran was attempting to gain concessions through negotiations over its nuclear program.
“They are good horsetraders and are trying to extract concessions,” Katz said. “We will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. If they do it through an agreement, all the better.”
Asked what Israel would do if Iran launched another attack, Katz said Israel would respond regardless of whether the United States joined any military action.
“The defensive partnership with the U.S. exists,” he said. “But if Iran attacks, Israel acts with force. That is not conditional on anything. Trump is a friend of the State of Israel. In his worldview, he knows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Defense Minister Israel Katz
(Photo: Aggelos NAKKAS / AFP, AP Photo/Mehmet Guzel)
Katz added that another military confrontation with Iran remained possible. “It is possible that tomorrow we will be at war with Iran,” he said. “If Iran fires missiles at Israel, Israel will strike Iran with force. There is no equation we will accept in which Iran fires at Israel. This has also been made clear to the Americans. The IDF is just waiting for it and is on alert. There are targets. We do not want to interfere with the process President Trump is leading, but when it comes to defending ourselves, there are no compromises, not in Lebanon and not in Iran.”
The exchange of threats came as indirect technical talks between the United States and Iran began Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan.
A source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters that technical teams and negotiating experts were taking part in the discussions. U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Tuesday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani to lay the groundwork for the talks but were not expected to participate directly in Wednesday's technical meetings.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters the discussions are focused on the release of Tehran's frozen assets and arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also met with the Qatari prime minister in Doha to discuss implementation of the interim agreement. Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that the two also discussed accelerating implementation of the memorandum of understanding, particularly regarding Lebanon. A trilateral meeting involving a Pakistani representative followed.
Araghchi said working groups had been established to oversee implementation of the interim understanding and prepare negotiations on a final agreement, but said formal talks on a comprehensive deal had not yet begun.