Tehran has halted indirect talks with Washington due to the escalating regional tension, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, as Israel continued to plan a retaliatory strike against his country.
“Currently, we do not see any ground for these talks, until we can get past the current crisis,” Araghchi said while visiting Oman, which has played an intermediary role in the talks. His comments were reported by Iranian state-owned news outlet Press TV.
“Oman has always contributed greatly to solving the regional problems; and regarding Iran and the US, it has always tried to play a positive role in conveying a message or preparing the ground for negotiations,” he said.
He underscored the importance of diplomacy, and said Tehran was not interested in further violence.
“Our position is crystal clear and we have repeated many times that we do not want war and conflict, although we are fully prepared for it. We think that diplomacy should work,” Araghchi said.
Just one day earlier, he had throated Israel and the United States, explaining that Tehran has “no redlines” when it came to responding to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security consultations in the Defense Ministry on Monday night, in which it was expected that Iran could be one of the topics.
