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Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said Friday that Tehran remains open to negotiations with the United States but will not accept what he called a policy of “imposition” under threats.
Ejei made the remarks in a video carried by the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, as talks between Iran and the U.S. remain stalled following a fragile ceasefire after nearly 40 days of war.
“The Islamic Republic has never shied away from negotiations... but we certainly do not accept imposition,” Ejei said.
He said Iran does not want war or its continuation.
“We do not welcome war in any way; we do not want war, we do not want its continuation,” he said.
However, Ejei said Iran would not abandon its principles and values to avoid war.
He said Iran was “absolutely not willing to abandon our principles and values in the face of this malicious enemy in order to avoid war or prevent its continuation.”
Iran and the United States held one round of talks after a fragile ceasefire followed nearly 40 days of war that began on Feb. 28.
The talks have since stalled.
The United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the strategic Strait of Hormuz largely shut since the start of the war, allowing only a small number of ships through the waterway.
On Thursday, U.S. news website Axios reported that President Donald Trump was expected to receive a briefing on potential military action against Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also warned that it was “possible that we may soon have to act again” against Iran to achieve the war’s objectives.
Ejei said the United States achieved “nothing” during the war and added that Tehran would not “back down” in negotiations.
In a written message Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the United States suffered a “disgraceful defeat” during the war.
He said Iranians would guard their “nuclear and missile” capabilities as part of their “national capital.”
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