Iran Says There Is No Military Solution as It Weighs Washington’s Reply
Abbas Araghchi told foreign ambassadors on Sunday that “there is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions”, warning that any renewed attack would meet a response “stronger than before”. His deputy, Kazem Gharibabadi, said American views on Tehran’s plan to end the war were “currently being examined inside the country”. Donald Trump said on Saturday that it would be “the easy way or the hard way”.
The gap is the Strait of Hormuz. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said the strait “will not open until our seven conditions” are met — among them an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen funds and the lifting of the US naval blockade. Mr Trump rejected Tehran’s seven-day roadmap as not “acceptable” on 26 September. Pete Hegseth calls the blockade “ironclad”, yet the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported on Sunday that a projectile had struck a tanker in the strait, damaging its engine room. Scott Bessent says Iran will have no oil shipments at sea this week. The test is whether Tehran’s formal reply lands before Mr Trump’s promised decision.