ANTALYA /Turkey/, April 17. /TASS/. Iran does not accept any temporary ceasefire agreements with the US, as they will subsequently lead to a resumption of hostilities, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the media on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
“We do not accept any temporary ceasefires. Because this is a vicious cycle that drains diplomatic resources and then leads to a return to war. This must stop,” he said. Khatibzadeh added that ongoing contacts through intermediaries “are being implemented precisely for this purpose” – finding a permanent solution. “By launching this aggression against Iran, the Americans and Israelis decided to strangle the entire region, strangle Iran, and strangle the economy. The global economy is paying the price. That was their decision. It was unprovoked aggression, an unprovoked war, and a war chosen by America. They will have to answer the question why they started it,” he noted.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Major cities, including Tehran, were hit. The IRGC announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, attacking Israel. US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.
On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the US delegation, by Vice President JD Vance. As was later reported in Tehran and Washington, the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions.
