Iran’s foreign minister tells regional counterparts Tehran will respond to any US attack

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, in a call with counterparts on Saturday, said Iran would respond forcefully to any American “aggression.”

The foreign minister held calls with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to posts on Araghchi’s Telegram channel, warning that Iran would respond with force to any “adventurous action” by the U.S.

Fidan also mentioned the meeting on social media, writing that the two officials “discussed the latest status of the ongoing negotiation process.”

The promise of retaliation came as CBS News reported that the U.S. and Israel had discussed coordinated strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure as soon as this weekend.

The military strike plan reportedly came up during Trump’s cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. Some White House aides were strongly opposed, one of the sources told CBS.

Those attacks would have reportedly included refineries and power plants. There were also high-level discussions about cutting electricity across Tehran.

However, not long later, the U.S. leader made the triumphant announcement that the framework for a deal had been agreed to by both sides. A potential deal, Trump said, would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”

“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

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This is not the first time Trump has announced some kind of breakthrough in the war with Iran, especially over a weekend.

Previous frameworks or promises of a deal were outright denied by Iran, fell through, or were later walked back for one reason or another.

Iran has yet to confirm Saturday’s agreement, which was announced by Trump on Truth Social late Saturday night, following a series of other unhinged posts.

Added pressure to end the war comes as crucial midterm elections near, and several polls have shown the American public is largely opposed to the conflict.