Iran Tells Trump: You’ll Get the Escalation You’re Obsessed With

Iran is walking back its attempts to ease tensions with its Middle East neighbors, blaming US President Donald Trump for the shift, a senior diplomat said, Gregory Svirnovskiy reported for Politico.

Iran has rejected the idea of an unconditional surrender to the US.

Tehran’s “openness to de-escalation within our region, provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory and waters are not used to attack the Iranian people, was almost immediately killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, determination and intent,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement.

“If Mr. Trump seeks escalation, it is precisely what our powerful armed forces have long prepared for — and what he will get,” he added.

Araghchi also pointed to the war’s growing unpopularity in the United States, criticizing its cost and the rising prices Americans are paying at the gas pump. Gasoline prices rose by about 32 cents per gallon compared with the week before the Pentagon launched its first strikes alongside Israel.

“This is a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters,’ and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last,’” Araghchi said.

The remarks came hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized in a prerecorded broadcast for strikes against Middle Eastern neighbors and said Iran would stop attacking countries that were not assisting the US and Israel in their operations against Tehran.

However, he also rejected the idea of an unconditional surrender to the US, calling it a “dream they should take to their grave.”

Trump responded in a Truth Social post, condemning Iran’s leadership for its “bad behavior” and warning that “today Iran will be hit very hard.”

Araghchi blamed Trump for the prospect of further escalation, saying responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s self-defense would lie “squarely with the US administration.”