TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is still alive “as far as I know,” and dismissed the prospect of regime change as unrealistic following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.“Almost all officials are safe and sound and alive. We may have lost one or two commanders, but that is not a big problem,” Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News.Responding to pre-recorded remarks by US President Donald Trump after the attacks, Araghchi described attempts at regime change as “Mission Impossible.”“You cannot do regime change while millions of people are supporting this so-called regime,” he said, adding that Tehran is “certainly interested for de-escalation.”Asked about possible communication with Washington, Araghchi said: “Well, there is no communication right now. But if Americans want to talk to us, they know how.”Araghchi downplayed the damage caused by the US and Israeli strikes, saying Iran had been able to begin retaliatory action “in less than two hours.”He also condemned an attack on a girls’ primary school in the city of Minab in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province, where at least 40 people were reported killed.“This attack was unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate and against international law,” he said.Araghchi added that he did not know why the attacks were launched, suggesting that others may have drawn the United States into the conflict for their own benefit.When asked whether Iran would develop missiles capable of reaching the United States, Araghchi said Iran had intentionally limited the range of its missiles to below 2,000 kilometers.“No, no, we don’t have those with that capability. We have intentionally kept the range of our missiles below 2,000 kilometers,” he said.“Our missiles are only for deterrence and defense. They are not for aggression,” he added.Israel earlier said it launched a “preemptive” attack on Iran under the name “Lion’s Roar,” declaring a “special and immediate” state of emergency nationwide.Trump later confirmed that US forces had begun “major combat operations” in Iran aimed at “protecting the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”The escalation comes as negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program had been ongoing under Oman’s mediation. The latest round of talks concluded Thursday in Geneva.
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