Iran ‘fully prepared’ for war to resume if Trump authorizes strikes after midterms

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said that his country is “fully prepared” for the conflict with the U.S. to resume if President Trump authorizes new strikes on the regime after the November midterm elections.

Araghchi told NBC News’s Kristen Welker in an interview on “Meet the Press” that the U.S. has “tested us in their aggression” and in diplomacy. He said that although Trump rejected Iran’s seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and enter a ceasefire, the offer still stands.

“We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed,” Araghchi told Welker. “And I repeat, we stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. But at the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.”

He noted that Trump rejected the peace offer but Iranian negotiators await “for an official response through the mediators.”

The foreign minister said that any new outbreak of fighting would be no different from previous strike exchanges, but said Iran’s military has “changed our tactics, and we are fully prepared to do that.”

Araghchi said that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was not illegal and intended for “certain” purposes, like “medical purposes [and] other purposes.” Welker pushed back and said that Iran’s 60 percent enrichment is 20 times more than what’s needed to produce electricity, then asked if Iran would allow the U.S. to take its enriched uranium to end the conflict.

“We have removed any concern in our past negotiations,” Araghchi said. “If there is still such a question, then why did they bomb us? Are they allowed to bomb anything that they think is illegal, or there is no justification for that? War is not a solution. That was a subject for negotiation, and we did it in the past.”

Welker asked about the status of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly seriously injured during U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28 that killed his father and predecessor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several members of his family.

He is believed to be in hiding and has not been seen in public or photographed since succeeding his father. Araghchi said this is for “security reasons” due to “indications” that the U.S. is a threat.

“We receive his comments, and orders, and opinions,” he added. “And there is a national consensus on decision-making. It is false if somebody thinks that there are different sources of power inside Iran. We move based on national consensus.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday told Fox News’s Bret Baier that he last spoke with the younger Khamenei in person about a month and a half ago. When Baier asked if Khamenei is able to govern, Pezeshkian replied, “Very much so, completely.”

Pezeshkian said before the United Nations General Assembly that Tehran is willing to strike a deal before the November midterms.