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Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that both sides are reviewing exchanged texts and working toward a "final formula" to end the war, even as the country's Revolutionary Guards launched fresh strikes on Kuwait and a top Iranian negotiator declared the era of cost-free threats against Tehran was finished.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Maydeen, said contacts with Washington had not been severed, but acknowledged that negotiations had stalled.
"Our contacts with the US have not been cut off, but no progress has been made in negotiations," Araghchi said, adding that "the two sides are studying the texts that were exchanged." His remarks suggested diplomatic channels remain technically open even as military exchanges continue.
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took a sharper tone on Wednesday, warning that Tehran would answer any attack with overwhelming force.
"Today, the Iranian nation, in its battle with America and the Zionist regime, showed that the era of free-of-charge Iran threats is over and that any aggression will be met with a decisive, regrettable, and proportionate response," Ghalibaf said, according to local news agency ISNA.
The warnings came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted US military bases in Kuwait in retaliation for American strikes on Iran. The IRGC said its forces carried out "precise and concentrated missile strikes" against American positions in the country, claiming the destruction of targets.
Kuwait condemned the attacks on its territory, and its air defense systems intercepted missiles and drones as sirens sounded across the country.
The Gulf state, which hosts a significant US military presence, reserved what it called its full right to respond in accordance with international law.
Iran framed the Kuwait strikes as defensive, with Araghchi stating on the social media platform X that Iranian forces had carried out "self-defense strikes" on sites the US was using "to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire."
He added, "Any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response. What sanctions and war failed to achieve won't be won with more war."
In the same Al-Maydeen interview, Araghchi warned that any Israeli attack on Beirut would trigger a full-scale resumption of war, issuing what he described as a decisive response guarantee should the Lebanese capital come under fire.
The warning follows days of tension over Israeli threats to strike Beirut's southern suburbs and an expanding Israeli ground operation in Lebanon.
President Donald Trump, who said he was "perturbed" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the threatened strikes, stated that Israeli troops would not move on Beirut.
While Araghchi indicated that both sides are actively working the text of a potential agreement, he has also cautioned against optimism, saying previously that "everything being said now is speculation and should not be given importance."
A White House official has stated that Trump "will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his redlines and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."
Pakistan has been mediating the broader talks, which cover issues including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, sanctions relief, and a long-term peace framework.
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