PARIS, April 17. /TASS/. Iran prefers negotiations to military action, despite the aggression directed against it, Mohammad Amin-Nejad, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to France, said in an interview with RFI radio.
"We have always been in the negotiation phase - both during the 12-day war and during the war of February 27, which was, in fact, a brutal act of aggression without a declaration of war, even as we were in the midst of negotiations. This time, too, we agreed to negotiate because we always prefer dialogue over hostilities," he said.
The ambassador added that the delegations have currently taken a break and returned to their capitals. He said mediation efforts and contacts are continuing and suggested that talks at the same level as those held in Islamabad could resume if certain compromises are reached.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Major cities, including Tehran, were hit. The IRGC announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, attacking Israel. US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.
On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. The Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and the US delegation, by Vice President JD Vance. As was later reported in Tehran and Washington, the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions.