Araghchi: Iran ready to repel any US ground invasion

Iran is prepared to confront any ground invasion by US forces, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on March 5.

Asked if he was afraid of a possible U.S. ground invasion, Araghchi struck a defiant tone.

"No, we are waiting for them," he said and added, "Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them,” he said in an interview with NBC News.

Araghchi noted that Iran has learned lessons from previous conflicts and now possesses more capable armed forces that would be able to confront US troops in the event of an invasion.

“When I said that we are waiting for them, it didn't mean that we are waiting for the continuation of the war. No, but we have prepared ourselves to confront any scenario, with any eventuality, any possibility, and we know that we can handle that,” he said.

He also stated that Iran is not seeking a ceasefire and sees no reason to hold negotiations with the United States.

"The fact is that we don’t have any positive experience of negotiating with the United States. You know, especially with this administration. We negotiated twice last year and this year, and then in the middle of negotiations, they attacked us," Araghchi said.

The Iranian foreign minister insisted that the United States had failed to achieve a quick victory or regime change in Iran, despite the US–Israeli strike that last week killed the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei.

“The system is working. The commanders have been replaced, and the Supreme Leader is going to be replaced soon,” he said.