"You can hit buildings and facilities but not knowledge and will"
About this Quote
The intent is deterrent messaging without the escalation of threats. He’s signaling resilience to adversaries who rely on coercion through kinetic force, while also reassuring domestic and allied audiences that destruction will not equal capitulation. The subtext is sharper: attacks on physical sites may even be counterproductive, accelerating expertise, dispersing know-how, and strengthening political resolve. Knowledge is portable; will is contagious.
Context matters because Araghchi speaks from the long shadow of sanctions, sabotage claims, and recurring tensions around sovereign capability - especially in domains where “facilities” are treated as the story, while the trained people behind them are the real center of gravity. The line also reframes legitimacy: it nudges listeners to see strikes not as decisive action but as a kind of strategic misunderstanding, mistaking a scaffold for the building.
As diplomacy, it’s compact and calculated: not a vow of revenge, but a thesis about endurance - and a reminder that the hardest things to control are the ones you can’t put coordinates on.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
|---|---|
| Source | Interview with Khabar Online (published on YouTube), as transcribed/quoted by Iran International, November 21, 2025 |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Araghchi, Abbas. (2026, February 26). You can hit buildings and facilities but not knowledge and will. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-hit-buildings-and-facilities-but-not-185669/
Chicago Style
Araghchi, Abbas. "You can hit buildings and facilities but not knowledge and will." FixQuotes. February 26, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-hit-buildings-and-facilities-but-not-185669/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You can hit buildings and facilities but not knowledge and will." FixQuotes, 26 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-can-hit-buildings-and-facilities-but-not-185669/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.









