Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday claimed he was inside the office of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei when it was attacked during the first wave of US-Israeli strikes in Tehran on February 28 that triggered the Middle East conflict.He said that he emerged from the “rubble” fearing for Khamenei’s fate, whose death Iran confirmed on March 1.“At the moment of his (Khamenei’s) martyrdom, I was in the office that was attacked. My first thought and my first concern was the condition of the Leader,” Araghchi told Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen television, as cited by Iran’s Press TV.The Islamic Republic’s top diplomat further stated that he spent two days “uncertain” about Khamenei’s fate while overseeing evacuation efforts, adding that despite repeated advice to relocate, Khamenei had refused.“I will not go to a shelter or to a secure location unless every member of the Iranian people also has access to a safe place… Whatever happens to my people will happen to me as well,” Araghchi quoted Khamenei as saying.Araghchi also pointed to Tehran’s prior warnings to Gulf countries that the use of US military bases against Iran would invite retaliation.“Had these US bases not been present in Iran’s neighbouring countries, they would not have come under retaliation,” he remarked, criticising the American “security umbrella.”He added that regional governments opposed such use of their territory, but Washington “proceeded regardless.”He argued Iran’s response caught its “adversaries,” including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, off guard. “No one anticipated Iran’s immediate and powerful retaliation despite the scale of the assault,” he added.On leadership, Araghchi asserted that Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei now holds full authority. “Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei has a highly influential and strong presence in the country’s ongoing affairs and holds full control over the reins of authority,” he stated.Amid reports about Mojtaba’s condition and whereabouts, he maintained that communication with the new Supreme Leader remains constant and directives are implemented without interruption, describing national consensus as a source of “strength.”“The same level of obedience and loyalty shown to the martyred Leader persists fully toward the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution,” he said.The US-Iran war has been on a pause since April 8, when Trump announced a ceasefire. However, the truce remains fragile, with sporadic attacks, stalled negotiations, and deep mistrust between both sides threatening to derail the arrangement.(With ANI inputs)
