LONDON, October 21. /TASS/. Iran is ready to negotiate with the United States in order to reach a just resolution of the ongoing conflict, but the country is also determined to defend itself, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted as saying in his article for Financial Times daily on Wednesday.
"Iran is prepared to give diplomacy another chance if we see strong evidence of a sincere desire on the part of the US to achieve a just and honorable solution to permanently end this conflict," the top Iranian diplomat stated.
"President [Donald] Trump made mistaken assumptions about Iran when entering this war. Repeating that error now will only result in an infinitely more painful outcome," Araghchi added.
The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, in the early morning hours of July 8, the US resumed large-scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the terms of the agreements reached on the Strait of Hormuz.
Nearly 25% of the global oil trade and about 20% of the liquefied natural gas trade pass through the strait. The US administration then effectively signaled that it would cease the use of large-scale military force against Iran and shift to attempting to economically strangle the country through sanctions.