Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Mar 15: Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said Iran welcomes any initiative aimed at ending the ongoing war in the region, while denying that Tehran targeted civilian or residential areas in neighbouring Arab nations.
Speaking amid the escalating conflict with Israel and the United States, Araghchi said some of the attacks reported in Gulf countries could have been carried out by Israel.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the foreign minister said Tehran was ready to establish a joint investigation panel with regional countries to examine the targets that were attacked.
Iran had earlier claimed that Israel and the United States were rebranding its Shahed drones to falsely blame Tehran for certain strikes.
Meanwhile, amid unverified reports circulating about the safety of Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that it would “pursue and kill” the Israeli leader, according to AFP.
In Israel, loud explosions were reportedly heard in central areas on Sunday morning after air raid sirens sounded following an Iranian missile strike.
Earlier, Iran launched missile attacks on the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which is used by the US military. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the base served as the “origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland”, alleging that it was used as a staging ground for F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft involved in strikes on Iran.
Separately, the United States Department of Defense has identified six airmen who were killed in a refuelling plane crash over Iraq earlier this week.
As the conflict entered its third week, Donald Trump said Iran appeared willing to negotiate a deal to end the war but he was not ready to agree to a ceasefire yet.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said the terms offered so far were not sufficient. “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said, adding that any agreement would have to be “very solid”.
Meanwhile, loud explosions were also reported from Manama on Sunday morning as tensions across the Gulf region continued to escalate.