Araghchi holds calls with 6 counterparts after attacks

Agencies

Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken by phone with the foreign ministers of France, Turkiye, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, reported Al Jazeera.

What the foreign ministers discussed over the phone was not immediately revealed. 

The call with Pakistan also included Field Marshal Asim Munir, the head of the country’s military, Iran's Foreign Ministry said on X.

Iran rejects Rubio assassination claim

Iran has strongly rejected allegations by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Tehran is seeking to assassinate American officials, accusing Washington of attempting to portray itself as a victim while ignoring what it called its own record of war crimes against the Iranian people.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed Rubio’s claims, describing them as an effort by the US to distort reality and deflect attention from its own actions, News.Az reported, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

Baghaei said the allegations reflected a mindset that projects its own conduct onto others. “Everyone imagines others according to their own creed,” he wrote on X, adding: “Playing the victim cannot whitewash the savage war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity you have committed against the Iranian nation.” As per Press TV, Baghaei was responding to remarks made by Rubio during a congressional hearing, in which the US secretary of state claimed Iran was seeking to target American officials.

US Hellfire missile cripples ship bound for Kharg Island

The US said its forces disabled an oil tanker headed towards Iran after the vessel allegedly failed to comply with repeated instructions issued under its stait blockade. As per Centcom, a US aircraft launched a Hellfire missile targeting the engine room of Botswana-flagged M/T tanker after it “ignored repeated warnings” and failed to follow directions on multiple occasions over a 24-hour period. Centcom shared footage of the operation on social media, showing the moment the missile struck the ship. The tanker was travelling without cargo towards Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran’s key energy hub.