Iran warns Israel of ‘crushing’ response to any new aggression

“For those willing to go where no one has gone before, there is a brief window of opportunity,” Abbas Araghchi wrote.

The op-ed appeared just a day after Trump met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where the two discussed Israel’s proposals for potential new strikes on Iran alongside the Gaza peace plan.

Standing beside Netanyahu, Trump warned that renewed Iranian missile expansion or nuclear advances would trigger a US response.

"We’ll knock the hell out of them," said Trump. “Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down."

In June, Israel and the US carried out coordinated strikes on Iran that severely damaged several key nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on a US base in Qatar and on Israeli targets. After 12 days of escalation, a ceasefire was reached under US pressure.

Israeli officials say Iran is quietly rebuilding systems damaged during the conflict.

Trump on Monday expressed his support for possible Israeli attacks on Iran if Tehran continues to develop its ballistic missile program.

Israel shaped US policy through 'myths'

Araghchi argued that what he called a “manufactured crisis” over Iran’s nuclear program has long been driven by Israeli narratives, misleading Washington into abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal and adopting a “maximum pressure” strategy that produced only resistance, according to the foreign minister.

“Those myths encouraged Washington to abandon a functional diplomatic framework in favor of ‘maximum pressure’ that only produced ‘maximum resistance’,” he wrote.

He also pointed to what he described as shifting opinion among Trump supporters, saying Israel is increasingly seen as a liability rather than an ally.

“A growing number of Americans – particularly those who want a focus on rebuilding the US – are publicly acknowledging what has been taboo: that uncritical acceptance of Israel’s narratives has drained American resources, undermined American credibility, and entangled the US in conflicts that do not serve American interests,” Araghchi wrote.

Araghchi also said recent conflicts across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Qatar have led regional governments to view Israel’s actions as “a threat to us all,” opening space for new diplomatic alignments.

Iran open to negotiations

Araghchi said “mutual friends of Iran and the US” are prepared to help facilitate talks and guarantee implementation of any future agreement, without naming those mediators.

Iran, Araghchi insisted, remains open to negotiations but not to surrender.

“Despite Israel’s attack on diplomacy amid Iran-US nuclear negotiations, Iran remains open to an agreement that is built on mutual respect and mutual interest,” he wrote, warning that Iran’s restraint should not be mistaken for weakness.

Araghchi reiterated that Iran will not give up what it regards as its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including domestic enrichment for civilian use, and said any future deal must include “tangible and verifiable sanctions lifting.”

The appeal comes as Iran faces severe economic strain and a third straight day of nationwide protests. Bazaar merchants have launched strikes and university students are joining street demonstrations across multiple cities.

The unrest, driven by the plunging rial and surging prices, is widening in scope against the leadership and some analysts warn it could threaten the Islamic Republic itself.

“We believe it is necessary to develop a dialogue with Iran,” the Kremlin said, urging parties “to refrain from escalation” after President Donald Trump warned Tehran against rebuilding missile and nuclear capabilities.

Trump, speaking Monday alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, said the US would hit Iran hard if it recovers militarily from the June war and that he would back possible Israeli strikes if Iran continues missile development.

Asked about support for strikes, Trump said: “If they will continue with the missiles, yes… The nuclear… absolutely.”

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  Trump says he'd ‘absolutely’ back possible Israeli strikes on Iran

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  Khamenei aide vows harsh response to any aggression after Trump warning

"I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things. And if they are, they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, and I hope they're not doing it, because we don't want to waste the fuel on B-2, it's a 37-hour trip both ways. I don't want to waste a lot of fuel," he said.

The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60-day deadline.

When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

The attacks killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said dealing with Trump is beneath the dignity of the Islamic Republic, while Iranian officials have rejected US demands to end uranium enrichment and curb missile capabilities.

In a post on X, Pezeshkian said he had ordered Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi to “listen to the legitimate demands of protesters” and help the government “respond responsibly.”

Pezeshkian said improving people’s livelihoods remains his “daily concern,” and that reforms to the banking and monetary system are on the agenda.

But it remains unclear how the dialogue he has proposed will work or whether it can contain protests that are increasingly political in tone.

The unrest began with anger over the surging price of the US dollar and the collapse of the rial but quickly broadened.

Strikes and demonstrations spread nationwide on Monday, turning violent in several cities as nighttime crowds chanted against the ruling system and bazaar merchants vowed to continue their shutdowns.

In Tehran, large parts of the Grand Bazaar were shuttered, while clashes were reported in central streets.

While the slogans were mainly focused on economic issues on the first day, the second day's chants underscored a transition from economic frustration to more explicit political dissent.

Chants in several cities targeted Iran's political authority, with crowds shouting slogans such as "death to the dictator" and "Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be toppled this year".

The turmoil has been fueled by a currency crisis that pushed the dollar to roughly 144,000 tomans over the weekend. The head of Iran’s central bank resigned amid the turmoil, and Pezeshkian appointed former chief Abdolnaser Hemmati in a move seen as aimed at calming markets.

Speaking on Monday in Florida alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Iranian authorities routinely open fire on demonstrators.

“They kill people,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago. “Every time they have a riot, or somebody forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people.”

Massive nationwide protests erupted across Iran over the weekend, with merchants vowing to continue their shutdowns into a third day on Tuesday.

What began as anger over the soaring price of the US dollar and the collapse of the rial has widened into a broader wave of unrest, spreading beyond market corridors into streets, squares and university campuses across several provinces.

While the slogans were mainly focused on economic issues on the first day, the second day's chants underscored a transition from economic frustration to more explicit political dissent.

Chants in several cities targeted Iran's political authority, with crowds shouting slogans such as 'death to the dictator" and "Seyyed Ali (Khamenei) will be toppled this year".

When asked about regime change in Iran on Monday, the US president drew a line.

“I’m not going to talk about overthrow of a regime,” Trump said, adding that Iran’s leadership already faces severe internal pressure.

“They’ve got a lot of problems. They have tremendous inflation. Their economy is bust. And I know that people aren’t so happy.”

He told reporters Monday that Iranians are increasingly discontented with their rulers. “There’s tremendous discontent. They form 100,000, 200,000 people. All of a sudden, people start getting shot, and that group disbands pretty quickly,” he said.

Long history of brutal crackdowns

Violence against protesters is not new in the Islamic Republic.

Amnesty International has documented past crackdowns in which security forces fired live ammunition at largely peaceful crowds.

During the 2022 Woman Life Freedom movement, sparked by the in-custody death of Mahsa Jina Amini, security forces fired on and killed protesters in cities across Iran, with many victims reportedly targeted in the eyes, according to human rights groups and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran.

The November 2019 demonstrations, known as “Bloody November,” are also widely considered one of the deadliest crackdowns in recent decades, with security forces shooting directly at protesters and killing hundreds.

“Iran’s missile and defensive capabilities are neither containable nor in need of permission. Any act of aggression will be met with a harsh, immediate response beyond the imagination of its planners,” Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, posted on X.

His comments came after Trump said on Monday he would support possible Israeli strikes on Iran if the Islamic Republic develops its ballistic missile or nuclear programs, warning Tehran against rebuilding military capabilities destroyed in a brief June war.

“I’m hearing that Iran is trying to recover — if that happens, we’ll have to hit them hard,” Trump said. Asked whether he would support Israeli strikes on Iran if it further develops its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, he replied: “If they continue with missiles, yes, quickly. If they continue with nuclear, immediately.”

Shamkhani, a member of Iran's Supreme Defense Council, warned that “in Iran’s defense doctrine, some responses are determined before a threat even reaches the execution stage."

The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60-day deadline. When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

The attacks killed several Iranian officials and nuclear scientists as well as hundreds of military personnel and civilians, while Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and Khamenei has said dealing with Trump is beneath the dignity of the Islamic Republic, while Iranian officials have rejected US demands to end uranium enrichment and curb missile capabilities.