Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said Thursday that he survived an attack on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office at the beginning of the US-Israel conflict against Iran, Iranian state media reported. He told that while coming out of the debris of the building that was the victim of the attack, he was worried about the safety of the supreme leader.
In an exclusive interview with Lebanese television, Aragchi said that he was present when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office was attacked in the early hours of the conflict on February 28. Referring to the incident, Aragchi said, “I was present at the office when the attack took place.” He further said, “My first thought and my first concern was about the condition of the leader.”
The foreign minister said he spent two days in uncertainty over Khamenei’s safety while focusing on evacuation efforts amid the devastation caused by the attack. He recalled that despite repeated advice to move to a safe place, the late supreme leader had refused to do so. Aragchi echoed Khamenei’s words, saying, “I will not go to any shelter or safe place until every member of the Iranian people also has a safe place. Whatever happens to my people, the same will happen to me.”
Praising the supreme leader’s behavior during the war, Aragchi said Khamenei continued to issue instructions and oversee operations despite facing “direct threats.”
‘If there were no American bases in Iran’s neighboring countries…’
Iran’s foreign minister also spoke on Tehran’s warnings to regional countries before the conflict escalated. During a visit to the Persian Gulf countries, he made it clear that any use of US military bases in attacks against Iran would invite retaliation. Criticizing the American “protectorate”, Aragchi said, “If these American bases were not in Iran’s neighboring countries, they would not have become victims of Iranian retaliation.”
According to Aragchi, regional governments had protested against the use of their territory for military action against Iran, but Washington “continued to act regardless”. The minister argued that Iran’s military response surprised its “adversaries”, including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Despite the massive scale of the attack, no one expected Iran’s immediate and forceful retaliation,” he said.