Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran will not negotiate with the United States and accused President Donald Trump of escalating the conflict in the region.
"Trump plunged the region into chaos with his 'delusional fantasies' and now fears more American troop casualties," Larijani wrote Sunday on X, according to The Hill.
He added that Trump "turned his self-made 'America First' slogan into 'Israel First' and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel's power-hungry ambitions."
The Hill reported that Larijani later denied a Wall Street Journal report that he had contacted the United States through Omani mediators to resume negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
"We will not negotiate with the United States," Larijani wrote.
The statements followed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran after talks between U.S. and Iranian officials, mediated by Oman, did not result in an agreement.
Six U.S. service members have reportedly been killed since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign launched Saturday alongside Israeli operations.
Iran and allied groups responded with attacks across the region. Iranian strikes targeted U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as sites in Israel.
In Beit Shemesh, Israel, an Iranian missile strike on a synagogue bomb shelter killed nine people, according to the daily Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired missiles toward northern Israel, prompting Israeli strikes that killed Hussein Makled, identified as head of Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters.
Lebanon's Public Health Ministry said Israeli strikes killed 31 people and injured 149.
In Iran, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said at least 555 people had been killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes as of Monday morning.
The "big wave" is yet to come in the war with Iran, Trump told CNN on Monday. He said that Washington did not know who the country's new leader would be following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"We're knocking the crap out of them," Trump said. "I think it's going very well."
"It's very powerful. We've got the greatest military in the world, and we're using it."
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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