Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States of engaging in “reckless military adventure” whenever a diplomatic solution is being negotiated or seams possible.
His statement comes as both sides accuse each other of launching attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, Araghchi criticised the approach of the Trump administration and questioned the motives behind recent US military actions.
“Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire Whatever the causes, the outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim,” Araghchi said pointing to the tactics being employed by the US.
He also rejected recent assessments attributed to US intelligence agencies regarding Iran’s missile capabilities.
“Also, the CIA is wrong. Our missile inventory and launcher capacity are not at 75% compared to Feb 28.
The correct figure is 120%. As for our readiness to defend our people: 1,000%,” he said referring to the U.S. intelligence report, saying that despite the uncertainty, the war has degraded Iran’s military capabilities, but not destroyed them.
” Roughly two-thirds of its missile launchers are believed to be still operational, a figure higher than earlier estimates, partly due to the ongoing ceasefire, which has given Iran time to recover and dig out launchers that may have been buried during earlier attacks,” according to sources familiar with the intelligence.
A CIA assessment also concluded,”Iran could withstand the current US-led blockade for up to four more months before facing severe economic disruption.”
Araghchi’s remarks came a day after both Tehran and Washington accused each other of launching attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, while US forces reportedly fired on additional Iranian vessels in the region.
He further referred to reported assessments by the US intelligence community, which suggested that Iran still retains substantial ballistic missile capabilities despite weeks of US and Israeli strikes.
According to a US official cited in the assessment, “Iran retains about 75 percent of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70 percent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles.”
The official also reportedly said there was evidence that Tehran had managed to recover and reopen most of its underground storage facilities, repair damaged missiles and assemble new missiles that were nearly complete before the conflict escalated.
Despite the tensions, Donald Trump said the ceasefire between the sides remained intact and was intended to facilitate talks aimed at ending the conflict that the US and Israel launched in February.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran was expected to respond to US proposals on Friday.
“I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do,” Rubio said during a visit to Italy.
Iran has been exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz and targeting US allies in the Gulf in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks. Around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strategic waterway, and disruptions there have pushed global energy prices higher.
Earlier this week, Trump launched, and later paused, a US military operation “Project Freedom” aimed at helping free nearly 2,000 vessels stranded in the area since February.
On Friday, United States Central Command said US forces had disabled two Iranian-flagged unladen oil tankers attempting to enter an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman “in violation of the ongoing US blockade.”
Centcom also released video footage of the operation, showing a US Navy F/A-18 fighter jet striking the tankers — identified as the Sea Star III and the Sevda.
According to the statement, US forces fired “precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran.”
