Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Warns US Of War Readiness If Talks Fail

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran remains ready to resume direct military conflict with the United States if negotiations fail to produce acceptable results, while warning that the US-Israel war on Iran is also impacting ordinary American households.

“Iran says lack of trust is the main obstacle in US negotiations Tehran, Iran – Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran remains ready to resume direct military conflict with the United States, if negotiations fail to produce acceptable results”

Al Jazeera

Araghchi tied the pressure to economic costs, writing on X that “Americans are told that they must absorb rocketing costs of war of choice on Iran,” and the article says US energy and inflation costs have increased significantly since the conflict began on February 28.

Al Jazeera

The report says the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has followed, where around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is normally shipped, and it describes a key sticking point in US-Iran negotiations as the future of the strait.

Iranian officials insist any agreement must grant Tehran sovereignty over the waterway, and Ebrahim Azizi said Tehran has “prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz along a designated route, which will be unveiled soon”.

The same account says Iranian authorities have called on supporters to take to the streets every night to ensure “victory” against the US, with state television intensifying messaging on Friday evening and broadcasting hosts brandishing assault rifles.

While Iran’s government messaging urges nightly street mobilization, the report also describes anti-government protests across Iran, including videos from Mashhad showing protesters pulling down and tearing up the flag of the Islamic Republic.

In Mashhad, protesters also targeted symbols including a statue of Qasem Soleimani in Kashan, and in Abadan the article says protesters shouted “Javīd Shāh” and “Cannon, tank, fireworks—the mullah must disappear.”

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

The DW report says security forces fired directly at protesters in one Abadan video, and it adds that Karoon released a video showing a female protester with the surname Mirsaei Khorramabadi being shot in the eye by a unit of the revolutionary guards’ special forces.

Outside Iran, Iran International reports continued demonstrations by Iranians abroad, saying that in London protesters urged the British government to place the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorist organizations with the slogan 'End the genocide,'.

Iran International also quotes participant Hadi Shafie saying, “We will tread the streets of London so that the voice of the Iranian people is heard; so that we can prevent the execution of our loved ones who are innocent in prison.”

Beyond battlefield readiness and street mobilization, the Al Jazeera report says US debt and mortgage rates are expected to jump as the threat of war is maintained, predicting pressure will translate into higher borrowing costs and a potential recession.

It also cites official figures that food inflation hit 115 percent in the first Persian calendar month ending in late April, and it says staples such as cooking oil, rice and chicken tripled in price over the past year.

The report links the economic strain to currency pressure, describing the rial at about 1.8 million to the US dollar in the open market in Tehran on Saturday, close to the all-time low registered earlier this month.

In parallel, Folha de S.Paulo describes daily acts of support for the Iranian government, saying this Sunday (the 17th) marked 71 consecutive days of demonstrations since the war began initiated by the United States and Israel.

Folha quotes Maryam, a 34-year-old trader, saying, “We will not give up our independence because of the attacks. We will resist,” and it adds that in Tehran Enghelab Square is described as the stage for the largest demonstrations.