Tehran still seeks negotiated solution with Washington, says Iranian President

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a visit to the shrine of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in southern Tehran, Iran, on January 31, 2026. Aboutaleb Nadri/Reuters Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced Monday that Tehran still seeks a negotiated solution to the conflict with the US, following renewed strikes between both countries. Pezeshkian added, during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit Kyrgyzstan that “the continuation of the war is not in anyone’s interest. “Dialogue and cooperation are the way to resolve the existing problems,” he emphasized. This comes after Pezeshkian said, before departing Tehran for Kyrgyzstan, that “Iran is not seeking war, and this is a clear message we have made to the world until now.” “But we will not stand idly by in the face of any aggression, and we will respond decisively to the aggressors,” considering that “instability and turmoil in the region are not in the interest of any country and will present challenges for everyone.” In the first direct military escalation between Washington and Tehran in weeks, Iran announced it had targeted US forces in Jordan and the UAE in retaliation for US airstrikes targeting the Iranian island of Larak. Back to top button