'Will not negotiate with US': Iran's security chief as conflict escalates

Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani said Tehran will not negotiate with the US, hours after Donald Trump said Iran's new leadership wants to negotiate

Amid escalating tension in West Asia, Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani on Monday said that Tehran will not negotiate with the United States (US). This comes hours after US President Donald Trump told The Atlantic magazine that Iran’s new leadership wants to talk to him and that he has agreed to the same.

 

In a separate post on X, Larijani slammed Trump for plunging the region into chaos with his "delusional fantasies" and said he now fears more American troop casualties.

 

"With his delusional actions, he turned his self-made 'America First' slogan into 'Israel First' and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel's power-hungry ambition and with new fabrications, it is once again imposing the cost of assassinating its own character on American soldiers and families. Today, the Iranian nation is defending itself," he said, adding that Tehran wasn't the one to begin the hostilities. 

 

ترامپ با "آرزوهای واهی" منطقه را به آشوب کشاند و حالا نگران تلفات بیشتر نیروهای امریکایی است.  وی با عملکرد متوهمانه، شعار خودساخته "اول امریکا" را به "اول اسرائیل" تبدیل کرد و سربازان امریکایی را فدای قدرت طلبی اسرائیل نمود... ۱/۲

— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 2, 2026

 

On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, also told Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in a phone call that Iran is open to any serious efforts at de-escalation, according to a statement by Oman’s foreign ministry. Oman has been acting as a mediator in nuclear talks between the US and Iran. 

Expanding West Asian conflict

Larijani’s statement comes as the conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel expanded on Monday, with both sides continuing strikes and tensions soaring across the region. According to the Associated Press, a pro-Iran militia claimed responsibility for a drone strike targeting US troops at Baghdad airport in Iraq, a day after saying it had attacked a US base in Erbil. Separately, Cyprus reported that a drone targeted a British base on the Mediterranean island.

 

Meanwhile, Israel and the US carried out strikes on Iranian missile facilities and naval assets, saying they had destroyed its headquarters and nine warships.

 

It was followed by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah saying it fired missiles into Israel during the early hours of Monday in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and "repeated Israeli aggressions". In retaliation, Israel launched a barrage of strikes on Beirut and urged civilians in eastern and southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of more possible attacks, sending people fleeing.

 

Iranian authorities, quoted by the Associated Press, said more than 200 people have died since the beginning of the strikes. Israel has confirmed that nine people were killed by a missile strike, while the United Arab Emirates reported three deaths from Iranian attacks, and Kuwait said one person was killed in its territory.