From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Iranian FM slams ‘illegal’ strikes, says Trump acting in Israel’s interests
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Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the US and Israeli strikes on his country are “unprovoked, illegal and illegitimate,” castigating US President Donald Trump for becoming “Israel first.”
In his first public comments following the joint US-Israeli military strikes that struck targets across Iran, Araghchi says on X: “[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Trump’s war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal and illegitimate.”
“Trump has turned ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First, ‘which always means ‘America Last’,” he says, sharing a social media post Trump made in 2012, in which he slammed then-president Barack Obama for looking to launch a military operation on Libya or Iran due to bad polling numbers.
Netanyahu and Trump's war on Iran is wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate.
Trump has turned 'America First' into 'Israel First'—which always means 'America Last'.
Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve pic.twitter.com/xhiWydMyXy
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
“Our Powerful Armed Forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve,” Iran’s top diplomat adds.
In a second post, Araghchi blasted the US and Israel for a reported strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran, which killed at least 40 people, including students, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Posting a photo he says shows the aftermath of the strike, Araghchi says: “The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils.”
“Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone,” he adds. “These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered.”
The destroyed building is a primary school for girls in the south of Iran. It was bombed in broad daylight, when packed with young pupils.
Dozens of innocent children have been murdered at this site alone.
These crimes against the Iranian People will not go unanswered. pic.twitter.com/AVqiuolgWm
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 28, 2026
Neither Israel nor the US issued a comment on the reported strike, and no further information is currently available.
The Times of Israel Community.