Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 7 of attempting to manufacture an "imaginary threat" from Iran's defence capabilities, with the explicit aim of persuading the United States to attack Iran.

Netanyahu had claimed on October 6 that the missiles produced by Iran could reach the United States in the future, and that Israel was, in fact, protecting the US by destroying them.

"The party that sought to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles to threaten American cities was Iran, and we destroyed it with the help of President Trump," he said.

Israel initiated a conflict with Iran in June, a conflict that also saw the US bomb Iran's nuclear sites before a ceasefire was reached after twelve days.

US President Donald Trump later asserted that Iran was weeks away from producing a nuclear weapon and that the American attack had successfully halted that programme by destroying the facilities.

Araghchi stressed in a tweet that there was certainly no "intelligence" confirming that claim, noting that Israel had finally managed to "deceive" the US into attacking the "Iranian People."

He also pointed out that there was never any "intelligence" that Iraq was concealing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and that the US attack in 2003 had only resulted in destruction, costing American soldiers' lives and trillions of dollars.

"By now, Americans have had enough of fighting Israel's Forever Wars," he added.

Araghchi also referenced negotiations with the US, which were halted just before the fifth round due to the Israeli attack.

"If the [President of the United States] were to glance at the minutes of those talks—recorded by our interlocutor—he would see just how close we were to celebrating a new and historic Iran nuclear deal," he said.

He stated that doubling down on earlier miscalculations resolves nothing. "There is NO solution but a negotiated outcome."

Araghchi also called on Washington to return to diplomacy following military strikes on Iranian facilities, saying "there is no solution but a negotiated outcome", bne IntelliNews reported on October 7.

The Trump administration had set a 60-day deadline for reaching a new agreement with Iran. On June 13, Israel launched a military campaign targeting Iranian senior military and nuclear officials and facilities. The attacks also resulted in civilian casualties.

The United States joined the campaign on June 22 with strikes on nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow. Trump said Iran's nuclear programme had been "obliterated", a view Araghchi contested.

"Buildings and machines can be destroyed, but our determination will never be shaken. Doubling down on that miscalculation does not resolve anything," he said.

Araghchi urged Washington to return to diplomacy, saying Iran is a great country and Iranians are a great nation, the heirs of a great and ancient civilisation.