Iranian foreign minister rejects US claim Iran was planning to attack US as ‘sheer, utter lie’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday rejected US claims that Iran had been planning to attack the US or its forces, calling the allegation "a sheer and utter lie."

"The claim that Iran was planning on attacking the U.S. or U.S. Forces, whether preventively or preemptively, is a sheer and utter lie," he wrote on US social media company X.

He added that the claim was intended to justify "Operation Epic Mistake," which he said was "a misadventure engineered by Israel and paid for by ordinary Americans."

Regional escalation has flared when Israel and the US launched a joint attack against Iran, killing more than 1,200 people and injuring 10,000 since last week. The US dubbed the attacks "Operation Epic Fury."

Refusing to surrender, Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries that are home to US military assets.