Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared Sunday that Tehran is "fully prepared for the war to be resumed" and would "stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war" — a direct answer to President Trump's threat last week to drive Iranians "into hell with no chance of survival."
Trump delivered the threat during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, a speech the New Republic reports was met with walkouts from delegates, including the Iranian contingent. Behind the scenes, however, American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a reported three-hour meeting with Iranian representatives on the assembly's sidelines, signaling that a diplomatic off-ramp remained at least nominally on the table.
Iran tabled a truce proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States ending its blockade of Iranian ports, lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, unfreezing an estimated $12 billion in Iranian assets, and implementing a region-wide ceasefire encompassing Yemen and Lebanon, according to the New Republic. Trump rejected the offer Saturday, dismissing it as the desperation of a nation that is "losing so badly." Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Araghchi framed the dynamic in starkly different terms. "He wanted unconditional surrender in the previous war in two days," Araghchi said of Trump, "and now, it is eight months they are fighting with no result. A new aggression would be certainly the same."
The collapsed proposal bore structural similarities to a June memorandum of understanding between the two countries that also fell apart, the New Republic notes. With no deal in place, the conflict continues to exact a toll on civilian populations across the Middle East and on global economies. Whether the looming midterm elections will sharpen Washington's appetite for a settlement remains, for now, an open question.
The choice, Araghchi made clear, belongs to Trump.