(April 15, 2026)

He noted that the Iranian delegation faced direct security threats while heading for negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, stating, „We received direct threats while en route to Islamabad that our plane might be attacked,“ prompting heightened caution during and after the visit.

„On our way back, we did not fly to Tehran. It‘s a very long story, but we all believed that there was a significant chance that they would down our plane, that they would shoot down our plane, that they would fire a missile at our plane,“ Marandi said.

He explained that on the way back from the talks, the Iranian delegation „secretly got into a different plane, and that plane on the way to Tehran suddenly diverted and landed very swiftly in Mashhad. And then we all came to Tehran by train, by car, and by bus.