Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has backed diplomacy as a “rational choice” to protect national interests while maintaining Iran’s military posture following the Israeli-U.S. war on Iran.
“He said the most rational and nationally beneficial course of action for Iran is to complete the battlefield victory of the Armed Forces through diplomacy and to secure the Iranian people’s rights from a position of dignity and strength,” the President’s Office reported.
Amid stalled talks with the U.S., Pezeshkian said Iran faced three options: “Enter negotiations with dignity and national interest, remain in a state of neither war nor peace, or continue confrontation.”
“The rational choice,” the Iranian chief executive added during a meeting on Monday, “is diplomacy from a position of strength, while maintaining mistrust toward the U.S. and remaining committed to national interests.”
Following exchanges of proposals and counterproposals between Tehran and Washington via Islamabad, Iran’s insistence on excluding its civilian nuclear programme from negotiations appears to have become a stumbling block to resuming an agreement aimed at halting the war.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ebrahim Rezaei, said the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, had stressed that “enrichment is non-negotiable and nuclear assets are protected.”
Speaking to reporters following a meeting with the AEOI chief, the MP quoted him as saying: “The issue of nuclear technology is not on the agenda of the negotiations.
“The nuclear industry will continue powerfully, and we will protect nuclear achievements.”
While Iran and the U.S. appear to be moving away from an interim deal to end the war, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held a phone call on Monday for the second time in 24 hours.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, “They consulted on the latest developments related to the ongoing diplomatic process between Iran and the United States, mediated by Pakistan.”
In another sign of growing strain, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi, in a post on X on Monday, condemned the U.S. draft UN Security Council resolution on the Strait of Hormuz as a bid “doomed to failure”.
He said the joint draft resolution had been tabled to “turn the backlashes of a military aggression and illegal blockade into a case against a country that has been the target of threats, pressure, and attacks”.
“Any text that attempts to formulate the situation in the Strait of Hormuz without mentioning aggression, blockade, threat of force, and Iran’s legitimate rights to defend its security and vital interests will be incomplete, biased, political, and doomed to failure,” he added.
Türkiye's first unmanned fighter aircraft has successfully completed a live-fire test using a domestically developed supersonic missile, striking a t...
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Don...
The United States has announced a campaign to weaken the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing the tribunal as a threat to American sovereign...
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
The United States has announced a campaign to weaken the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing the tribunal as a threat to American sovereignty and signalling that further sanctions, visa restrictions and diplomatic pressure on allies could follow.
TikTok moderates content in more than 70 languages, including Azerbaijani, using a combination of artificial intelligence and human reviewers, a company representative has said.
South Africa international midfielder Jayden Adams, who helped Bafana Bafana reach the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time, has died at the age of 25.
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
President Ilham Aliyev is holding his annual question-and-answer session with international journalists at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum in Azerbaijan.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13th of July, covering the latest developments you need to know.
An overnight fire at a popular bar in Bangkok has killed at least 30 people and injured 70 others, making it one of the deadliest pub disasters in the Thai capital in recent years. Authorities say the venue quickly filled with thick smoke, trapping patrons inside.
Türkiye's first unmanned fighter aircraft has successfully completed a live-fire test using a domestically developed supersonic missile, striking a target more than 120 kilometres away over the Black Sea in another milestone for the country's defence industry.
Afghanistan and Türkiye are considering a tourism agreement to promote historic and religious sites, ease travel and train tourism workers, Afghan authorities said after talks in Kabul on Monday.
Pakistan has allowed a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy to enter Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing, granting a rare humanitarian exemption despite months of restrictions on cross-border movement amid heightened security tensions with Afghanistan.
Climate change could leave Kazakhstan facing severe water shortages, longer heatwaves and mounting economic losses within decades, as rising temperatures and shrinking glaciers reshape water security across Central Asia, scientists warn.
Kyrgyzstan's government has banned the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel indefinitely. The Central Asian country imports more than 90 per cent of its fuel from Russia, which has faced supply issues due to Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.
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