TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday said that there can be no talks with the United States as fears grow that Washington might consider military action against Tehran.
“Conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful. If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands, and raising illogical issues,” said Abbas Araghchi after the US deployed an aircraft carrier, Abraham Lincoln, in the Middle East.
“One cannot speak of talks in an atmosphere of threats,” he said in televised comments, adding that in recent days he had “no contact” with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and that “Iran has not sought negotiations”.
US President Donald Trump has said another “armada” is heading toward the region and expressed hope that Tehran would pursue a diplomatic path with Washington, though recent moves suggest an expanded US military presence in the Middle East.
Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has meanwhile issued warnings to countries across the region, cautioning that any new military action against Iran could endanger the flow of global energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping route between Iran and the Gulf states.
“We do not want to jeopardise the global economy, but the Americans and their supporters cannot benefit from a war they initiate against Iran,” said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, a political affairs deputy in the Guards’ naval forces, according to state media.
In recent weeks, Washington has indicated it may again consider military action against Iran. Speculation has grown that potential targets could include senior political and military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran on Wednesday issued a formal aviation warning restricting civilian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz as its military prepares to conduct live-fire exercises in the strategically vital waterway, a key transit route for global energy supplies, amid heightened regional tensions involving the United States and its allies.
According to the NOTAM, the Iranian military will conduct live-fire activities as part of scheduled exercises near the narrow waterway, a key global energy transit route through which a significant portion of the world’s oil shipments pass. The drills are set to take place over three days, from January 27 to January 29.
