Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Iran is ready to fight US ground troops amid indications that the Trump administration is preparing to send forces into the country.
Araghchi was asked during an appearance on NBC News if Iran was afraid of a US ground invasion. “No, we are waiting for them,” he replied. “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that will be a big disaster for them.”
President Trump and his top officials have refused to rule out the idea of putting “boots on the ground” in Iran, and during the lead-up to the war, media reports said that the president was considering sending commandos into the country to launch raids against military sites.
Araghchi also said Iran was not seeking a ceasefire despite the major US and Israeli airstrikes across the country, pointing to the fact that the US and Israel launched attacks during negotiations.
“We are not asking for a ceasefire, and we don’t see any reason why we should negotiate with the US,” Araghchi said. “When we negotiated with them twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations, so there is no request for a ceasefire by us.”
Araghchi added that Israel requested a ceasefire during the 12-Day War in June 2025. “We didn’t ask for a ceasefire even last time. In previous time, it was Israel who asked for a ceasefire. They asked for an unconditional ceasefire after 12 days that we resisted against their aggression,” he said.
