On July 27 (local time), Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei declared that Iran would not let the US decide the time to end the conflict between the two countries, and affirmed that Iran would continue to defend itself "while it is necessary".
According to Xinhua, speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Mr. Baghaei said that the US has "bogged down" in the conflict for the past 5 months.
Iran will not allow the US to decide whether to enter conflict or peace. We will defend ourselves during the necessary time," Mr. Baghaei emphasized.
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry also mentioned recent exchanges with Oman on the management of the Hormuz Strait. He said these discussions took place under a bilateral mechanism between Iran and Oman, without the participation of the United States.
According to Mr. Baghaei, negotiations with Oman are taking place in a positive direction, but this strategic maritime route has not yet been reopened.
He also accused some Gulf countries of participating in supporting the US in the conflict with Iran, but did not specify the names of the countries.
Regarding the attack on an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea last weekend, Mr. Baghaei warned that Ukraine would face "unpredictable" consequences.
In a post on social network X, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of directing the attack on an Iranian merchant ship, killing a sailor.
Mr. Baghaei said this is an act that violates the United Nations Charter and accused the incident of being carried out at the request of Israel to drag Europe into the conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking at a press conference, he continued to affirm that the attack was "illegal and unfounded", and emphasized that Iran would not let this matter pass without a response.
Currently, the US and Ukraine have not made official comments on the statements of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
