Iran rejects Donald Trump's offer as airstrikes continue across Middle East
The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council has rejected negotiations with Donald Trump following the killing of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The long-standing conflict between Iran and America escalated on Saturday (28 February) after the US, joined with Israel, launched a 'massive' attack on the country's leadership.
The assault largely came in response to the government's totalitarian regime against its own people, which sparked nationwide protests at the beginning of the year. The demonstrations themselves were also met with severe punishment from Islamic Republican leaders.
Trump also claimed the attack was aimed at ensuring 'that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon'. This assertion was backed by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed the operation was to 'to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran'.
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Iran's Supreme Leader killed
Trump's attack saw Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei, amongst a number of other officials, killed. The Middle Eastern nation responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The US President responded to the retaliation by calling upon Iranian forces to stand down. He also urged citizens to continue to rise up against the country's leaders.
"When we are finished, take over your government," Trump, 79, wrote in a statement on Truth Social on Sunday (1 Mar). "It will be yours to take.
"This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Trump claims he's 'in talks'
The following day, the Republican leader told The Atlantic that the new leaders of Iran 'want to talk' about the country's nuclear programme, which leaders have repeatedly described as entirely peaceful, and that he'd agreed to conversations about the two countries' future relations.
"They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them," he told the press from his resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, claiming a number of leaders he'd previously attempted to negotiate with were now deceased.
"They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long."
Iran 'will not negotiate'
Providing a response on Monday (2 Mar), however, Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani slammed Trump's deal claims as contradictions, writing on X: "We will not negotiate with the US."
Larijani also shut down speculation that he had already been in talks with Washington via Omani intermediaries.
In a separate post, he accused Trump of turning his 'America First' doctrine into 'Israel First', accusing the President of sacrificing his own country's soldiers for Israel's regime.
The Iranian hit out: "With delusional actions and new lies, Trump is once again making US soldiers and their families pay the price for his personality cult."
This remark came in response to Trump's claim that three American service members were killed and five seriously wounded in the operation against Iran over the weekend, which was later backed by US military officials.
Iranian sources alleged, however, as cited by the Palestinian Chronicle, that approximately 560 US military personnel were killed or injured.
Larijani also insisted his country 'has not started the invasion' and that any military responses enacted by Iran will be done in self-defence.
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, also told ABC News that his country had previously attempted to negotiate with America twice within the last year, but was attacked in the midst of conversations both times.
After slamming the killing of Khamenei as a 'cowardly act of terrorism and a flagrant violation of international law', he hit out: "Those who oppose peace, diplomacy, and negotiations, when they saw that the diplomatic track was going well, decided to destroy it."
Araghchi also backed Larijani's self-defence claims, insisting Iran now has the right to protect its citizens 'without limitation'.
Strikes spilling out
Since the assassination of Khamenei, Trump has pledged that his ongoing campaign against Iran could last 'around four to five weeks'.
On the third day of the conflict, blasts have been heard across several other Middle Eastern countries.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Israel launched a wave of drone attacks in the suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon, killing 31 people and injuring 149, claiming the area had been controlled by Hezbollah groups.
Despite this, military experts predict that the American and Israeli side will run out of ammunition much quicker than their foes, via News Arena India.
Topics: Iran, Donald Trump, US News, World News, News, Politics
Rhianna Benson