Tehran: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran has rejected a US media report claiming that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has talked about the country being in a ‘survival’ mode.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in a post on his X account on Monday, Mohsen Shamsizadeh, the deputy spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reacted to the claim published by The New York Times. He said that the American newspaper alleged that Araghchi held a meeting with media outlets on Thursday, during which he discussed the importance of a so-called fight for ‘survival.’ Shamsizadeh noted that the Israeli-backed TV channel ‘Iran International’ had also amplified this claim with a headline.

He pointed out that some Western parties seem determined to turn even trivial issues into pretexts for fabrication and escalating tensions. Shamsizadeh emphasized that it is entirely customary for a minister or spokesperson to hold regular and periodic meetings with journalists and media representatives on foreign policy matters, adding, however, that no such meeting with the characteristics described by The New York Times took place last Thursday.

He underlined that such a story essentially had no basis in reality.