West Asia tensions: Iran rejects sanctions and military pressure, calls for talks with US

Irans top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States war against the Islamic republic with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasseA campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February and Washington in recent weeks has dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressureThe main point of contention remains Irans attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker struck by an unknown projectileIf our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation our response will be stronger than before and we will defend ourselves with even more force Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadorsThere is no military solution nor any solution based on new sanctions he continued adding only negotiations based on justice and fairness could end the conflictThe two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operationsIran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorisationThe US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating itOn Sunday the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a tanker in the Hormuz reported being struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the engine room though the crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was recordedThe agency did not specify the date of the incident the vessels origin or destination or whether it was an oil tanker or LNG carrierFocused on HormuzIranian and US officials last week held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with Tehran saying it presented seven conditions for reopening the straitIran has demanded among other things a ceasefire across the Middle East the unfreezing of its assets abroad the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockadeTrump however rejected the proposal while leaving the door open both to further talks or renewed military operationsIranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday characterised the latest US counterproposal as being in line with their previous proposals concerning nuclear issuesWe have clearly indicated that we are focusing on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz he said adding that reopening the waterway required an end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctionsThe United States and Israel have characterised the war as being necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons a goal it has long denied pursuing though the focus soon shifted to reopening the Hormuz after its closure sent shockwaves through world energy marketsThe United States has not struck Iran since September 1 but it has recently pursued a fresh military buildup in the regionUS media outlet Axios reported that Washington has deployed additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to help protect key energy facilities from possible Iranian retaliationIt also reported that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group were heading to the Middle East where they could join two other US carrier strike groups already in the regionAxios reported that top Trump cabinet members met Friday to discuss the war in Iran as well as the conflict in Yemen where the Tehranbacked Houthis have been fighting government forces and attacking Saudi ArabiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever