‘We didn’t ask for ceasefire’: Iran rejects US claim, says Tehran ‘ready for US ground invasion’

NEW DELHI: Iran has said it is prepared for a possible US ground invasion and has not sought a ceasefire, with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi striking a defiant tone amid continuing US and Israeli strikes on the country.Speaking to NBC News in a video interview from Tehran with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas, Araghchi said Iran was confident it could confront American forces if Washington launched a ground operation.His remarks come days after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping military campaign targeting Iranian military infrastructure, a conflict that has rapidly expanded across the region.Asked by Llamas whether he feared a possible US ground invasion, Araghchi said Iran was prepared.

“No, we are waiting for them,” he said, adding, “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”

Iran says it has not sought ceasefire

Araghchi also rejected suggestions that Iran had sought a ceasefire following the strikes, saying Tehran had not requested any halt to hostilities.“We didn’t ask for a ceasefire even last time. In previous time, it was Israel who asked for a ceasefire. They asked for an unconditional ceasefire after 12 days that we resisted against their aggression,” he said.He was referring to the 12-day conflict last June, when Israeli and US forces targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and military infrastructure.

School strike controversy

During the interview, Llamas asked Araghchi about an attack on an elementary school in Minab that reportedly killed dozens of schoolgirls. The US military has said the incident is under investigation and raised the possibility that the strike could have been caused by an errant Iranian munition.Araghchi rejected that suggestion and said Iranian authorities believed the strike was carried out by US or Israeli forces.According to him, 171 schoolgirls were killed in the attack.“This is what our military said. So it is either US or Israel. What is the difference?” he said.

Negotiations collapse after strikes

Araghchi said the latest military escalation had effectively ended any prospect of negotiations with Washington.Just days before the strikes began, the Iranian foreign minister had been engaged in talks in Geneva with President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner over a potential diplomatic arrangement.The attacks during those discussions, he said, had deeply undermined trust in any future negotiations with the United States.“The fact is that we don’t have any positive experience of negotiating with the United States. You know, especially with this administration. We negotiated twice last year and this year, and then in the middle of negotiations, they attacked us,” Araghchi said.“So we see no reason why we should engage once again with those who have, who are not honest in negotiation, and they don’t and do not enter into negotiation in good faith.”

‘No winner in this war’

Araghchi also offered a bleak assessment of the ongoing conflict, saying neither side would emerge victorious.“There is no winner in this war,” he said. “Our win is to be able to resist against, you know, the illegal, you know goals, and this is what we have done so far.”The interview comes as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, with US and Israeli military operations targeting Iranian positions and Tehran warning of retaliation across the region.