Iran\u2019s top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States\u2019 war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.
\nA campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialled back military operations in favor of economic pressure. The main point of contention remains Iran\u2019s attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile.
\n\u201cIf our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force,\u201d Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors. \u201cThere is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions,\u201d he continued, adding \u201conly negotiations based on justice and fairness\u201d could end the conflict.
\nThe two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations.
\nIran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorization. The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports, and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it.
\nOn Sunday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a tanker in the Hormuz \u201creported being struck by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the engine room,\u201d though the crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was recorded. The agency did not specify the date of the incident, the vessel\u2019s origin or destination, or whether it was an oil tanker or LNG carrier.
\nBut as Iran faces growing queues at petrol stations due to the impact of the Middle East war, the country\u2019s oil minister Mohsen Pakne jad resigned, the president\u2019s office said on Sunday. Hamid Bovard, the chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company, \u201chas been appointed as acting Minister of Oil by a decree from the president,\u201d said the presidency statement carried by state media.
\nIranian and US officials last week held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Tehran saying it presented seven conditions for reopening the strait. Iran has demanded, among other things, a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.
\nTrump, however, rejected the proposal, while leaving the door open both to further talks or renewed military operations. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Sunday that the US had expressed its views on the proposal and said they were being reviewed.
\n\u201cThe Americans, through intermediaries, have also conveyed their views on this proposal, and these views are currently being examined inside the country through the relevant channels and procedures,\u201d he told reporters, according to state media.
\n\u201cWhenever the final position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready, appropriate steps will be taken accordingly. At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran is also preparing itself for any other possible scenario.\u201d Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday characterised the latest US counterproposal as being \u201cin line with their previous proposals concerning nuclear issues.\u201d
\n\u201cWe have clearly indicated that we are focusing on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d he said, adding that reopening the waterway required \u201can end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran\u2019s top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States\u2019 war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse. A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":103950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103980,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103968\/revisions\/103980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}