Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Jan 9: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday accused the United States and Israel of actively fuelling the ongoing protest movement in the country, alleging direct interference aimed at destabilising Iran. At the same time, he downplayed the likelihood of any foreign military intervention against Tehran.

Speaking during a visit to Lebanon, Araghchi claimed that both Washington and Tel Aviv were openly admitting to their involvement in the protests. “This is what the Americans and Israelis have stated, that they are directly intervening in the protests in Iran,” he said.

The Iranian minister alleged that external forces were attempting to turn peaceful demonstrations into violent and divisive movements. “They are trying to transform the peaceful protests into divisive and violent ones,” he added.

Addressing concerns over possible military action following US warnings over Iran’s crackdown on demonstrators, Araghchi dismissed such scenarios as unlikely. “Regarding the possibility of seeing military intervention against Iran, we believe there is a low possibility of this because their previous attempts were total failures,” he said.

Iran has been witnessing a wave of protests in recent weeks, with the government repeatedly accusing foreign powers of instigating unrest and interference in its internal affairs.