MINSK, November 3. /TASS/. Iran is working to resolve the conflict with the United States diplomatically but doesn’t rule out that things could take a turn for the worse, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

"Iran has made enormous efforts to pave the way for diplomacy, but the worst-case scenario is always a possibility," he told the 4th International Conference on Eurasian Security in Minsk.

According to the senior Iranian diplomat, having attacked Iran on February 28, the United States and Israel have caused a lot of damage to the entire region. Iran, in his words, is not only defending its own sovereignty and its people but also the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

"We are struggling against other countries’ reckless and aggressive actions," Khatibzadeh said, adding that his country wants to be a bulwark of stability in the region and will never agree to surrender.

"We are trying to be a bastion of stability in the region. Iran holds every card but the one for surrender," he noted.

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding envisaging an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, the United States resumed large-scale attacks on Iran overnight to July 8, having accused it of breaching the existing agreements in what concerned the Strait of Hormuz, a global chokepoint for approximately 25% of oil and some 20% of LNG supplies.

Later, the US administration signaled that it was moving from military operations against Iran to economic suffocation through tougher sanctions.