Iran says won't negotiate with US, can 'continue the war'

TEHRAN (AFP) - A senior adviser to late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will not negotiate with the US and is ready to “continue the war”.

Iran has no intention of negotiating with the United States and can continue the Middle East war for as long as needed, Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has told state TV according to AFP.

He told AFP that Iran had “no trust in the Americans and we have no basis for any negotiations with them”.

“We can continue the war as long as we want,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that US President Donald Trump has “betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him”.

“When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

Meanwhile Israeli military claims that Iran still has significant capacity to launch missiles at Israel, even as it continues to strike missile launchers in the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

“We have destroyed dozens of missile launchers that posed significant threats to the Israeli front,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin claimed in a televised briefing.

“We will continue to strike the missile launchers and reduce the firing, but the regime still has significant capacity, and I would like to remind you that our defence is not impenetrable.”

Also Read: US-Israeli strikes across Iran leave 787 dead amid escalating regional tensions

Iran’s retaliatory offensive hits Gulf

Qatar condemns Iranian strikes on Its territory as ‘unacceptable and unjustifiable’

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari commented on Iran’s attacks on Qatar, which he called “unacceptable and cannot be justified no matter what the target was on Qatari soil,” reports TRT.

Iran’s “targeting is not limited to military installations or American interests … but rather, encompasses the entire Qatari territory,” he said.

Saudi Arabia intercepts drone attack targeting huge refinery

Saudi Arabia intercepted a drone attack in targeting its massive Ras Tanura refinery, the defence ministry said, following an earlier hit on the complex along its Gulf coast this week.

"Initial estimates indicate that the attack was carried out by a drone and did not result in any damage," the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

Kuwait military says detected inbound missiles, drones

Kuwait's military said it detected incoming projectiles and was working to intercept them, with Iran pressing its campaign targeting Gulf states into a fifth day.

Also Read: Beirut explosion, Qatar busts spy cells: Latest developments in Mideast war

"The armed forces are currently dealing with a wave of missiles and drones that have been detected in the airspace of the State of Kuwait, and are carrying out their missions to confront and intercept them," the army said in a statement as an AFP reporter said sirens sounded in Kuwait City.