Iran has said it is prepared either to resume diplomacy with the United States or return to fighting, as President Donald Trump indicated that talks could restart this week despite rejecting Tehran’s latest ceasefire proposal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the decision now rested with Mr Trump. “At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump,” he told NBC News.
He added: “We are fully prepared for the time for the war to be resumed, and I repeat, we stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war.”
The comments came after Mr Trump dismissed an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping over seven days as part of a return to a ceasefire agreement that collapsed months ago.
Mr Trump told Axios that Iran wanted a deal, but said it was not an agreement he was prepared to accept. He said the Iranian leadership was seeking negotiations because “they are losing so badly”, adding that the possibility of renewed US strikes remained under consideration.
Iranian state media said the country’s delegation at the United Nations General Assembly in New York had no plans for direct talks with the US. Its position had instead been conveyed through a Qatari mediator, with the delegation due to return to Tehran on Tuesday.
Mr Trump nevertheless said he expected negotiations to continue this week. Since the war began in February, discussions between Washington and Tehran have largely taken place through mediators.
Iranian rial falls as crisis deepens
The diplomatic uncertainty has coincided with a further fall in the value of Iran’s currency. The Iranian rial dropped to a record low on Monday, with the free-market selling rate exceeding 2.4 million rials to the dollar.
Iran is also facing high inflation, sanctions and disruption to foreign trade. Annual inflation reached 61.4% in August, while food prices were reported to have risen by 128% compared with a year earlier.
Republican Senator John Kennedy described Iran’s proposal as “not a serious offer” and backed continuing sanctions and the blockade. He said the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz was affecting oil prices, adding that the US would have to find a way to reopen the waterway or escalate the conflict.
Mr Kennedy said he would not support sending US ground troops into Iran.
