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Gov’t pursues diplomacy to ease tensions with West despite intrigues: Spox
The Iranian government spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the administration is striving to resolve tensions with Western countries through diplomacy despite their “belligerent approaches.”
“In a situation where approaches (toward Iran) are belligerent, the government is trying to resolve issues through diplomacy, in line with safeguarding national interests and promoting regional stability, and within the framework of international peace,” Fatemeh Mohajerani said during her weekly presser.
“Of course, this does not mean that other options have been taken off the table by the government and the Establishment.”
Mohajerani told reporters that Iran is in a hybrid and multilayered war and is in a state of full readiness to respond to any threat.
Tensions have worsened between Iran and the United States over the past weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran over its response to the recent foreign-backed riots across the country.
The US has also dispatched a strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the West Asia waters.
"We have a big armada next to Iran. Bigger than Venezuela," Trump told the Axios news site, weeks after US military action resulted in the capture of the Latin American nation's president, Nicolas Maduro.
But he added, "They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk."
In a subsequent briefing with reporters, a US official said, “With regard to Iran, we are open for business. If they want to contact us, and they know what the terms are, then we’re going to have the conversation.”
Earlier this month, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said any deal would have to include a ban on uranium enrichment in Iran, the removal of already-enriched uranium, a cap on Tehran’s stockpile of long-range missiles and a rollback of the Islamic Republic’s support for resistance groups in the region.
Tehran has expressed willingness to negotiate with the US but has rejected those terms outright.
In recent days, Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of a decisive response to any miscalculation.
Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement has also warned the US and Israel that they will resume their drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea against Israeli-affiliated vessels and ships bound for the Israeli-occupied territories in reprisal for any adventurism in the region.
The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement also warned the US and Israel that a fresh round of strikes on Iran would have serious consequences for the entire region, as Tehran will respond forcefully and decisively to any act of aggression.
“A new war on Iran could set the entire region ablaze this time,” Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Monday.