IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ‘IN GOOD HEALTH, FULLY MANAGING COUNTRY,’ FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS

ISTANBUL, March 15 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “in good health and continues to fully manage the country” as hostilities between Tehran and Washington continue to rage across the region, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

“The situation in Iran is stable, and everyone is carrying out their duties in their respective positions,” Araghchi told the London-based The New Arab (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed) newspaper in an interview, to be fully published later Sunday.

The supreme leader “is in good health and fully managing the country,” he added.

Araghchi said Tehran is ready to sit with regional countries to form a joint investigation committee to determine the nature of the targets that have come under attack and whether they were American-linked.

He stressed that strikes carried out by Iran targeted “United States (US) bases and interests in the region” as part of Tehran’s response to attacks launched against Iran from those bases.

The minister said Tehran had obtained information indicating that the US and Israel were launching attacks from specific locations toward Arab countries.

“We have not targeted any civilian or residential area in the countries of the region so far,” he added.

Araghchi threatened retaliatory attacks on American companies in the region if Iranian oil facilities are hit.

“If our energy facilities are targeted, we will also target the facilities of American companies in the region,” he said.

The top diplomat claimed that the US had developed a drone similar to Iran’s Shahed drone, called “Lucas,” which he said is used to strike targets in Arab countries, noting that this information is still under review.

Araghchi said communications with neighbouring countries remain ongoing, including with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Diplomatic contacts “have not stopped,” he said, noting that several regional countries are conducting mediation efforts aimed at reducing tensions and proposing ideas to end the war.

Iran is ready to consider any proposals that would ensure a “complete end to the war,” he said.

Araghchi also said that the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil tankers, “remains open to all countries except the United States and its allies.”

Hostilities have escalated since Feb 28, when Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran, killing around 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU