TEHRAN/WASHINGTON (MNN); Iran has rejected US efforts to pressure other countries into reducing economic ties with Tehran, while Iranian officials said the country was prepared for renewed conflict but remained open to diplomacy amid an escalating dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi criticised US plans to send envoys abroad to encourage governments to economically isolate Iran. In a post on X, he said countries would determine their relations with Tehran according to their own interests rather than instructions from Washington.
Gharibabadi also said the era of imposing policies through threats and sanctions was coming to an end.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf meanwhile accused Washington of sending contradictory messages over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US claimed Iran did not control the waterway while simultaneously reacting to developments there through market prices.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was “fully prepared” if hostilities resumed but stressed that Iran was still willing to pursue negotiations.
Speaking to NBC News, Araghchi said Iran would stand against any new aggression, while adding that the choice between confrontation and diplomacy ultimately rested with US President Donald Trump.
He said the United States had not formally communicated through mediators any rejection of Iran’s proposal concerning the Strait of Hormuz, despite public comments from Trump.
Araghchi said Iran was prepared to reopen the strait as part of a broader agreement to end the conflict. In return, he said, Tehran wanted access to frozen assets and the ability to resume oil exports.
“I am still trying diplomacy because I think we shouldn’t miss any chance for peace,” Araghchi said.
Iranian Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, meanwhile, said US pressure, including war and what he described as a comprehensive blockade, had failed to create shortages and famine in Iran.
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, he said the country had not been defeated militarily, socially or economically despite extensive pressure during two recent wars.
Trump rejects Iran’s Hormuz proposal
US President Donald Trump said Iran had “overplayed their hand” with its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
According to AFP, Trump told Axios that Tehran wanted an agreement but that its proposal was not acceptable to him, adding that it was similar to terms Washington might have considered a year earlier.
Trump also said he was “always thinking” about the possibility of resuming military strikes against Iran.
Axios, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that indirect talks between Washington and Tehran could begin as early as Monday.
Trump also said more than 20 million barrels of oil had transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, describing it as the largest volume since the conflict began.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz separately dismissed Iran’s proposal as “cynical”, arguing that Tehran was seeking the lifting of blockades and sanctions as well as access to billions of dollars in frozen assets simply to begin negotiations.
Waltz said Washington had limited confidence in the proposal following previous diplomatic efforts.
