Iran is conducting intensive consultations through mediators, including Qatar and Pakistan, on a possible agreement with the United States that would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this in an interview with the state-run IRNA news agency.
“If the United States accepts our conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and negotiations will resume,” Araghchi said.
Tehran awaits a decision from Washington
The minister said that Iran had already presented its specific conditions and its own plan. According to him, the country is more prepared than ever for both a diplomatic and a military scenario.
“The ball is now in Washington’s court,” Araghchi said. He called on the US side to choose “the wise path” of negotiations instead of repeating “the mistake of military aggression”.
The Iranian foreign minister stressed that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the full resumption of negotiations are directly linked to the acceptance of Tehran’s conditions, which he described as fair. “Iran will not submit to coercion,” Araghchi said.
Warning of a harsher response
Araghchi warned that any new military attempt or attempt at deception by the adversary would receive a “much harsher” response. According to him, the attacking side would regret such actions “even more bitterly”.
The foreign minister pointed to the active mediating role of Doha and Islamabad. He spoke of dozens of phone calls and intensive diplomatic contacts through which Iran’s conditions are being discussed.
His statement came after a visit to Turkmenistan. Araghchi described the visit as productive and said that key bilateral projects in the fields of energy, transit and the economy had been discussed.
He described strengthening relations with neighboring countries as a constant priority of Iranian foreign policy. The projects under discussion are linked to the agreements reached by the presidents of Iran and Turkmenistan during the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Turkmen city of Avaza in October.
Sources: bta.bg