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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Israel on Wednesday against threatening Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, saying any threat against Iran's people or leadership would draw an "immediate powerful response."
The warning came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei was "marked for death."
"POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them," Araghchi wrote on X. "Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response."
He said the terms of the Tehran-Washington memorandum of understanding were "crystal clear and public for all to see."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel would strike Iran again "if needed," vowing that Tehran "will not have nuclear weapons."
"In Iran, we saved ourselves from atomic bombs," Netanyahu claimed in an interview with Israel's Channel 14.
His remarks came as a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, brokered under Pakistani mediation, entered into force on June 18 after being electronically signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The memorandum provides a framework for ending the conflict and addressing outstanding issues between Washington and Tehran through negotiations.
It includes a cessation of hostilities, sanctions relief, the nuclear issue, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional security arrangements.
Israel has repeatedly opposed any agreement with Tehran and warned of launching renewed strikes on Iran.
Indirect talks in Doha between officials from the United States and Iran aimed at ending the Middle East war began Wednesday, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks told AFP.
The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, confirmed that negotiations were underway after earlier saying the U.S. and Iran were set to hold "indirect technical talks on Wednesday in Doha with Qatari and Pakistani mediators."
The Doha talks are based "on the memorandum of understanding, building on the progress made at the Lake Lucerne Summit," the diplomat said, referring to recent talks in the Swiss resort town and the negotiating framework endorsed by the two sides in June.
U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are not taking part in the technical talks, the diplomat added, after they met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.
Both the U.S. and Iran had said they would send officials for meetings in Qatar.
The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, includes a 60-day ceasefire in the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.
It also covers the reopening of the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a timeframe for a final deal to end the war and reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
Iranian officials were set to travel to Doha on Wednesday, but Tehran denied an earlier claim by Trump that direct talks would be held.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that the Iranian delegation would be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi but said the officials "have no plans for negotiations with the American side at any level over the coming days."
Kushner and Witkoff instead met with the Qatari prime minister on Tuesday, the Gulf state's Foreign Ministry said.
The three discussed "the ongoing talks between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of the memorandum of understanding," the ministry said in a statement, adding that they also discussed developments in Lebanon.
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