Iran FM says Tehran 'never asked for ceasefire' as Trump seeks to secure Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran has “never asked for a ceasefire, we have never asked even for negotiation,” rejecting claims made a day earlier by US President Donald Trump that Iran was seeking a deal to end the war. 

In an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation, Araghchi said Iran sees no reason to hold talks with Washington after the United States launched strikes against the country, describing the conflict as “a war of choice by President Trump and the United States” and vowing Tehran would continue its “self defense.”

“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump had told NBC News Saturday. 

Araghchi also claimed Tehran was “open to countries who want to talk” about ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane where Iranian attacks on vessels have led many carriers to avoid transit altogether. 

Trump said Saturday that "many countries" would be "sending warships, in conjunction with the United States, to keep the strait open and safe.” It remains unclear whether other countries have agreed to do so. He added, “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others that are affected” will send vessels to join the mission.

Meanwhile the Gulf continues to reel from a series of Iranian attacks. The United Arab Emirates said Sunday that its air defenses intercepted four ballistic missiles and six drones launched from Iran. A statement from the UAE Ministry of Defense noted that Emirati defenses have shot down 298 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,606 drones since the US-Israel war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Iranian attacks during the conflict have killed at least six people in the UAE and wounded 142 others.

In Fujairah, oil-loading operations resumed Sunday after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone sparked a fire near the major Gulf bunkering hub a day earlier, temporarily disrupting some activity at the port before the blaze was brought under control.

Simultaneously, Israel continues to strike Lebanon. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Sunday that the government was not planning to hold direct talks with Beirut in the coming days, dismissing a report from Haaretz that negotiations were imminent.

As the death toll in Lebanon climbed to 850 with 2,105 wounded — according to a Sunday statement from the Lebanese Health Ministry — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed calls for an end to the fighting during a visit to Beirut. “They were dragged into it,” he said, referring to Lebanese civilians.