In WSJ Op-Ed, Iran's Top Diplomat Has Words for Trump

Iran's foreign minister issued what the AP sees as the most direct threat yet Wednesday against the United States after Tehran's bloody crackdown on protesters, warning in an opinion article published by the Wall Street Journal that the Islamic Republic will be "firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack." In his op-ed, Abbas Araghchi—who saw his invitation to the World Economic Forum in Davos rescinded over the protester killings—contended the protest had been peaceful until "foreign and domestic terrorist actors entered the scene."

He wrote "the violent phase of the unrest lasted less than 72 hours" and that the death toll is in the hundreds, "with a final tally" to come. (The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency puts the death toll at 4,519 people. The AP notes that while it has been unable to verify that number, the agency has been accurate throughout the years on demonstrations and unrest in Iran.) "Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack," Araghchi wrote, referring to the 12-day war launched by Israel on Iran in June.

"This isn't a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war." He added: "An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe."

"Mr. Trump perceives himself as a deal maker," he wrote. "What he has so far brought to our region, however, has only been war." He concluded: "Iran's message to President Trump is clear: The US has tried every conceivable hostile act against Iran, from sanctions and cyber assaults to outright military attack—and, most recently, it clearly fanned a major terrorist operation—all of which failed. It is time to think differently. Try respect, which will allow us to advance farther than one may believe." Read the piece in full here.