'Never asked for ceasefire': Iran denies reaching out to US for deal to end war amid Trump's claims

Iran has denied reaching out to the United States for a deal to end the ongoing war and reiterated its preparedness to fight a long war. Stating that it is ready to “defend” itself for “as longa s it takes", Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview said that they will wait for Trump to call this war “illegal.” Slamming United States' “act of aggression” once again, Araghchi declared that the Iranians always knew that they were “stable and strong enough.” About the attack on Gulf nations, the Iranian FM said that Iran is only attacking “American assets, American installations, American military bases” in these countries, and quashed reports of attack on civilian posts.

Also Read: Trump wants to hit Iran’s Kharg Island again despite 'totally obliterated target' claims

What Araghchi said about deal with the US?

"We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation," Araghchi said, in an interview to CBS. He added, “No, we never asked for a cease fire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes…We don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they- when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time. There is no good experience talking with Americans.”

About attacks on neighbouring Gulf nations, he said, “We are only targeting American assets, American installations, American military bases. Everything belongs to Americans, and this is a fact that they are using their soil, you know, just- there are many, many examples. Just yesterday, they, you know, attacked our islands using HIMARS artillery rockets, which is- which are low range, you know, rockets and they use the territory of UAE to attack us. Some a week ago, three F-15 jet fighters were shot down, apparently, by a friendly fire in Kuwait. But nobody asked what they were doing in Kuwait. They were using Kuwait, and, you know, a space of a neighborly, a friendly country, to attack us. So it is obvious we cannot just, you know, remain, you know, silent on this.”

Also Read: China responds after Trump urges countries to send warships to secure Strait of Hormuz

What Trump said about deal with Iran?

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (Mar 14) has ruled out any possibility of talks with the Iranians after claiming that Iran wants to make a deal. In a phone interview to NBC News, Trump said, “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet.” He explained that the agreement would need to be “very solid” for Americans to agree with it. When asked what should be the terms of the agreement, he responded, “I don’t want to say that to you,” he said. This comes after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Mar 12, in a post on X, wrote that the war will only end after three conditions will be met - namely - recognition of Islamic Republic's legitimate rights, payment of reparations and firm international guarantees against future aggression. Trump had described Iran as a “tough country”, and declared victory in the war but provided no evidence of the claims.

(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)