Conflict will not be resolved through military means, sanctions: Araghchi
‘No plans for meeting between Rezaei, Vance’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that the conflict with Iran will not be resolved through military means, urging the United States to engage in diplomacy and address Iran’s conditions.
“The conflict with Iran will not be resolved through military means, nor by intensifying sanctions,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told IRNA.
“The only solution is to adopt a language of respect, engage in diplomacy, and address Iran’s demands and conditions – which were outlined in the two-day proposal and remain on the table.”
Tehran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded since the start of the war, within two days in return for Washington meeting a raft of conditions.
The conditions, first formally conveyed to Washington through Qatari and other regional mediators in September, center on ending hostilities on all fronts, the release of Iran’s frozen assets, the complete lifting of the illegal naval blockade, the removal of economic and political sanctions, the withdrawal of US naval and air forces from the region, payment of war reparations, and an end to threats and insults.
US President Donald Trump, whose Republican party last week lost midterm elections in part due to the war, said on Monday that there was “positive momentum” towards ending the conflict after meeting Qatar’s prime minister at the White House.
In a post on social media, Trump reiterated that the US was “locked and loaded” but said further strikes were “quite unlikely” given that key US allies in the Persian Gulf “would prefer the status quo”.
“We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this conflict, and will ensure that America’s interests are at all times protected,” Trump said.
Diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar and Pakistan, are underway to find a resolution to the war, which broke out in late February when US-Israeli strikes killed Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Positive reactions
The Qatari Foreign Ministry said that Doha is “working tirelessly to end the uncertainty over the crisis between Washington and Tehran”.
Ibrahim bin Sultan Al-Hashmi, director of the ministry’s media and communication department, told a weekly news briefing that mediation efforts are ongoing and there are positive reactions from both sides of the crisis.
Iranian foreign minister also dismissed “baseless” media speculations about the possibility of a meeting between Iran’s top security official and the US vice president, saying no such meeting is being planned.
The remarks came after certain foreign media outlets claimed that a meeting could take place between US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei.
Rezaei himself stated in a post on the X platform that there were no plans for dialogue with the American side.
“The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government. But Washington flails like a desperate gambler. FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks. Stop denying the West Asian NEW ORDER. Time to SURRENDER to the seven conditions Iran has repeatedly set out,” said Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a post on X.