A bomb was planted near the residence of Iran’s foreign minister during the 12-day war with Israel but was discovered before it could explode, Abbas Araghchi said in an interview.
Although the interview was scheduled to air on Iran's state TV, the broadcaster’s decision to withhold it has raised eyebrows among moderate and pro-government news outlets.
“A bomb was planted in a house across from ours, but it was discovered before it exploded," Araghchi said in the interview which is the latest episode of an online program titled The War Story.
He also said that during his overland trips, several drones were detected flying overhead. While Araghchi himself did not notice the drones, he said his security team identified them using specialized equipment and, on several occasions, had to turn off their mobile phones for security reasons.
On June 21, Araghchi visited Istanbul to attend the meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). His trip to Turkey came after his visit to Geneva, Switzerland, where he met European powers in the middle of the Israel war.
ZDF reported at the time that Araghchi had informed Israeli officials that he would be flying to Geneva, as Israel controlled the Iranian airspace during the 12-day war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on June 23.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE,” US President Donald Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Araghchi confirmed at the time that Iran would halt military operations starting at 4:00 am Tehran time on June 24.
Ceasefire violation caused by 'misunderstanding'
In his recent interview, Araghchi revealed a misunderstanding between him and Iran's military forces, which led to continued Iranian strikes past the intended ceasefire time.
“There was a misunderstanding between me and the armed forces. Our friends had thought the ceasefire was in effect from 4 am GMT, so they continued attacks against the (Israeli) regime until 7:30 am Tehran time,” Araghchi said.
He said another misunderstanding occurred on the afternoon of June 24.
On the first afternoon of the ceasefire, Araghchi said, “the (Israeli) regime claimed Iran had launched missiles and violated the agreement, and they sent their jets to carry out attacks."
"I immediately messaged (Trump's envoy Steve) Witkoff and said Israel was making excuses, accusing Iran of violations that never happened. I warned that if they take action, we will respond immediately and more forcefully than before. Iran is not Lebanon — they can’t repeat what they did there.”
He said Trump then said in a social media post that he had ordered Israeli pilots to turn back, effectively halting the operation.
“This showed, once again, that everything had been coordinated with the Americans from the very beginning," Araghchi said.
The 12-day war was started by Israel and capped off by US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The United States had signaled it would join only if the campaign was going well, The Washington Post reported on Saturday citing Israeli and American officials involved in the operation.
Israel was preparing a final wave of attacks aimed at toppling Iran’s ruling system when Trump announced the ceasefire, the Post reported citing the officials.
Israel's surprise campaign of airstrikes and drone attacks killed hundreds of Iranians including civilians, military personnel and nuclear scientists. Iran's retaliatory missile strikes killed 27 Israeli civilians.
