Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States were no longer under consideration as the ongoing war entered its 11th day.
Speaking during an interview with PBS News, Araghchi said Tehran had a “very bitter experience” from previous negotiations with Washington, making further talks unlikely.
“I don’t think talking with the Americans would be on our agenda anymore,” he said.
The conflict escalated on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran that reportedly killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The attack triggered a wider conflict across the Middle East.
The strikes occurred just two days before scheduled talks between Washington and Tehran, following three earlier rounds of negotiations. Mediators from Oman had earlier indicated that there had been “significant progress” in the discussions.
In response to the attacks, Iran launched drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and US interests across the region.
The conflict has also disrupted shipping activities in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route through which nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil passes. Iranian forces have reportedly targeted several oil tankers in the strategic waterway since the war began.
Araghchi maintained that Iran’s actions were in self-defence.
“We are prepared, and we will continue attacking them with our missiles for as long as necessary,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, disclosed that several countries had reached out in efforts to broker a ceasefire.
According to him, China, Russia, France, and some countries in the region are in contact with Tehran over possible steps to end the conflict.
“Some of them are willing to do something to stop this war or establish a ceasefire,” he said on state television.
French President Emmanuel Macron also announced that France and its allies were preparing a “defensive” mission aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Gharibabadi, however, insisted that Iran did not start the war but was responding to aggression.
AFP.
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