Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has dismissed repeated assertions from the Trump administration that Tehran was preparing a pre-emptive strike against the United States or its military personnel, calling them entirely false.

In a post on X, Araghchi said the allegation was nothing more than an attempt to justify what he mocked as “Operation Epic Mistake”.

He suggested the military action had been driven by Israel and argued that ordinary Americans would ultimately bear the cost of the decision.