Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, stated this Saturday that Tehran has at no time ruled out the possibility of holding peace talks with the United States on Pakistani territory, and stressed that any version speaking of an Iranian refusal constitutes a manipulation of the facts disseminated by American media.
According to various Iranian media reported this Friday, these eventual meetings would focus on the option of a 48-hour ceasefire, while the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqaei, denounced a series of "irrational demands" raised by Washington.
Nevertheless, Araqchi has at all times avoided admitting an explicit rejection of these conversations. "Iran's stance is being misrepresented by the American media. We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and we have never refused to go to Islamabad," the Foreign Minister has indicated.
The head of Iranian diplomacy has insisted that, in the face of specific pauses in the fighting, "what matters to us are the terms for a definitive and lasting end to the illegal war imposed on us." The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has responded to these words with a message of support: "I sincerely appreciate your clarification, my dear brother."
According to the latest balance offered by the Iranian authorities, the offensive launched by the United States and Israel more than a month ago has already caused 2,076 deaths, including 216 minors. The Iranian Red Crescent has also indicated that the bombings have destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 civilian buildings, almost 40,000 of them in Tehran, the capital. Likewise, in these four weeks of attacks, around 600 schools and nearly 300 health centers have been affected.