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19 Jul 2026, 14:32

Abbas Araqchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, announced in a video interview that since the beginning of the new leadership period, he has not personally met with Mojtaba Khamenei, and only a limited number of individuals have managed to meet with him.
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Abbas Araqchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, referring to the reason for the death of the former leader of the Islamic Republic, stated that there is still a possibility of a "security gap" existing at high levels of the government.

In an interview with a government documentary filmmaker in Tehran, parts of which were published on Sunday, July 28, he mentioned the "presence of infiltrators at the highest level of the system," saying: "Infiltration is not just about gathering information; it also involves decision-making and influencing the psychological atmosphere."

He emphasized that the bombing of the "Leader's Office," during which Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders of Iran were killed, occurred through a "security gap" and added that this gap still exists.

According to Araqchi, on March 9, 2025, when the joint attack by Israel and the U.S. on Iran began, in addition to Ali Khamenei's office, the offices of Ali Shamkhani and Mohammad Shirazi, two military officials, and Ali-Asghar Hajazi, a security official very close to Khamenei, were also targeted. Among them, only Hajazi survived.

Javad Moghuyi, who interviewed Araqchi, explained during the conversation that in addition to Khamenei's meeting with the country's defense officials, there was another very important meeting that day: a meeting of the Deputy Ministers of the Ministry of Intelligence at another location in Tehran.
It seems he is referring to a meeting that Israel announced it targeted in the early hours of the joint attacks with the U.S., killing several senior members of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence.
The Israeli army announced on March 11 of last year that Seyyed Yahya Hamidi, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence for "Israel," who, according to them, "was directing terrorist activities against Jews, Western actors, and regime opponents inside and outside Iran," was among the casualties.
Jalal Pourhossein, referred to as the "Head of the Espionage Section" of the Ministry of Intelligence, was also among the casualties according to the Israeli army's announcement.
Iranian media had previously confirmed the death of Mohammad Basiri, a senior official of the Ministry of Intelligence, in the Israeli attack on March 9.
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Araqchi also rejected critics' claims that negotiations have paved the way for war, stating that the Islamic Republic has stood firm on its position regarding enrichment in negotiations, and after the failure of negotiations, the opposing side chose the military option.
Araqchi also mentioned that scenarios had been designed for the possibility of the death of the leader of the Islamic Republic, and "these scenarios even had specific codes," although, according to him, no one was inclined to bring them up in decision-making meetings.
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Regarding the decision-making process about negotiating with the U.S., Abbas Araqchi said: "At that time [between the two wars], we formed a nuclear committee within the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council, which has now become the Negotiation Committee and is known as the six-member committee."
"All discussions related to negotiations took place in this committee, and its resolutions followed the same process as the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council."
According to Abbas Araqchi, the chairmanship of this committee was initially held by Ali Shamkhani and then by Ali Larijani, both of whom were killed in the attacks by the U.S. and Israel.
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