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Point of no return far off: Envoy says diplomacy still viable to resolve Iran-US conflict

On June 20, the Iranian armed forces shot down a US-made RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone

© AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. There is a possibility of an armed confrontation between Tehran and Washington, but the conflict can still be ironed out using diplomacy, Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told reporters on Wednesday.

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Lavrov warns against ‘very bad scenario’ unfolding around Iran

"I really want to believe that there will be no war. When we say ‘war,’ we sometimes mean short-term conflicts, unfortunately, and this cannot be ruled out, because tensions are running high," the diplomat explained. "But this does not mean that it is inevitable, it is still possible to return to a conventional political process, and Russia is doing its best to make this happen."

The situation around Iran deteriorated after June 13, when two oil tankers caught fire following an alleged attack in the Gulf of Oman. The US blamed Iran for the incident, with the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia supporting Washington’s claim. Tehran has denied all the accusations.

On June 20, the Iranian armed forces shot down a US-made RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone. In the wake of this incident, the United States, according to President Donald Trump, had hammered out a military operation, including pinpoint strikes against three facilities on Iranian soil. Trump said he had called off the operation ten minutes before it was scheduled to begin, describing this as a disproportionate response to Tehran’s actions.

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