Sept. 27 (UPI) — Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday the country is ready to restart fighting with the United States, but it has not given up on diplomatic efforts after U.S. President Trump rejected a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed,” Abbas Araghchi told NBC News’ Meet the Press when asked about a Wall Street Journal report that Trump could restart bombing Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November. “We stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war.”
He continued, “At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.”
Iran last week offered to reopen the vital waterway within seven days via mediator Qatar on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“I rejected their deal,” Trump said Saturday. “They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they’re losing so badly.”
Araghchi told NBC News Sunday that Trump’s rejection had not been delivered to Iran through mediators.
He said Iran was set to reopen the strait as part of a deal to end the war. “We want our monies, our assets, which are illegally frozen, to be released,” he added. “We want to be able to sell our oil.”
The conditions set by the United States were “not new” and what it agreed to earlier, Araghchi said, referring to the memorandum of understanding Washington and Tehran signed in June that detailed plans for a ceasefire.
The pact collapsed days later after new strikes.