'Iran Ready for Dialogue Based on Credible Guarantees': Abbas Araghchi

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States of choosing “aggression, threats and economic warfare” in the ongoing conflict between the two countries, while saying Tehran remains open to talks if they rest on credible guarantees.

Speaking at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Baghdad, Araghchi said the US had chosen “the opposite path” to diplomacy: “aggression, threats, assassination, and economic warfare, with blatant disregard for international law and the United Nations Charter.”

‘DOES NOT ACCEPT COERCION’

Iran, he said, “does not accept coercion, threats, or intimidation, and will not relinquish its sovereign rights under pressure.” But it “remains ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and credible guarantees.”

On the sidelines of the meeting, Araghchi held talks with Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, IRNA reported. He accused Washington of “repeatedly disrupting” diplomatic processes. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not “bow down to the excesses of aggressor countries.”

LEBANON AND THE ISLAMABAD MOU

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said ending hostilities on all fronts was essential for lasting peace in the region, warning that continued fighting in any area would prolong the wider conflict.

IRNA, citing Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen television, reported that he said Iran remained committed to ending the Israeli war on Lebanon, an objective he said had been secured in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in mid-June.

Lebanon, he said, was among the key issues discussed between the two sides, and he had sought to bring them closer during his visit to Beirut.

In Tehran, the Iranian parliament approved Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi as the country’s new defence minister.

TRUMP: ‘IT’S GOING TO END VERY QUICKLY’

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the war with Iran would end “very quickly.” Addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Kentucky, he tied the outcome to domestic fuel costs. “When it ends, your gas prices are going to be lower than what they were before,” he said.

With inputs from ANI