ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday expressed skepticism regarding the United States' “political overtures” to Iran, following the accidental disclosure of war plans by top officials from the Donald Trump administration in a group on the commercial messaging app, Signal.
In a post on his official account on X, Araghchi shared a screenshot of the leaked message commenting, “People around the globe, including Americans, now see how US officials look at world affairs,” adding that the incident highlights “severe incompetence and, more importantly, total disregard for human life in decision-making.”
The leak, reported by The Atlantic magazine, showed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texting about plans to target Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Ansarullah movement - commonly known as the Houthis - in Yemen two hours before the confidential military operation was carried out.
The Trump administration has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis since mid-March, in response to the armed group’s disrupting maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas War, which erupted in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Houthis, who are members of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance, have carried out attacks on Israeli vessels and vessels affiliated with Israel, claiming the targetings are geared to relieve pressure on their Palestinian allies in Gaza.
In the screenshots, Hegserth tells his colleagues that “nobody knows who the Houthis are” and that the true aim of the attacks is to highlight that “[former President Joe] Biden failed” to protect US interests in the Red Sea and that “Iran funds” the Houthis.
The Atlantic reported that 18 senior officials, including the National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and the Vice President JD Vance, were in the group. For his part, the US President dismissed concerns over the leak of military plans via the messaging app Signal as a “witch hunt.”
Commenting on the impact of the leaks on Tehran, the Iranian foreign minister Araghchi on Thursday stated that Iran sees “perhaps another reason to take the recent political overtures with a huge grain of salt,” indirectly referencing the letter sent by the US President to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in early March urging negotiations.
On March 7, Trump told Fox Business that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, signaling openness to nuclear negotiations. He also warned of military action against Iran in case it refuses to cooperate stating, “If we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing for them [Iran].”
Commenting on Trump’s letter, Araghchi stated on Sunday that Iran would not engage in direct talks with the US unless Washington recalibrates its policy towards Tehran.
“Negotiations with the United States are no longer possible considering the current circumstances,” Araghchi said, adding that “certain things have to change” for the negotiations to kick off.
Days prior on Thursday, the senior Iranian diplomat had described Trump’s message as “mostly threatening, but it also claims there are opportunities. We will examine the dimensions of both the threats and the opportunities.” He emphasized that Tehran’s opposition to talks with the US stems from “history and experience” rather than “stubbornness.”
Under a 2015 nuclear deal - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - with world powers, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for much-needed relief from crippling sanctions.
However, the deal began unraveling in 2018 when Trump, during his first term, unilaterally withdrew the US from the accord and reimposed biting sanctions on Iran.
Tehran adhered to the deal for a year before gradually ramped up its nuclear activities afterward.
After returning to office, Trump in early February restored his “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran, arguing that it is “too close” to a nuclear weapon. Despite this, the US President expressed openness to negotiating a new deal with Iran, though Iranian Supreme Leader, Khamenei, then deemed such negotiations as “unwise.”
