No military or sanctions-based solution can bring end to conflict: Iran's Foreign Minister

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday stressed that there is no military or sanctions-based solution to the conflict with the US and described diplomacy as the only way to end the hostilities, local media reported.

Speaking to ambassadors and representatives of countries and international organisations here, Araghchi said: "There is no military or sanctions-based solution. Only a diplomatic solution can work and can help bring an end to the aggression against Iran."

The Foreign Minister expressed hope that the US would pick "wisdom and rationality" and asserted that Iran is more prepared than before if the US opts for a military course, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

He said that Iran's delegation held several meetings and interviews during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and presented a seven-day proposal for resolving existing disputes to open the Strait of Hormuz, it said.

Araghchi said that under the proposal, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened within seven days if the plan is agreed to. He said that Iran, during its presence at UNGA, expressed readiness for a diplomatic solution to end the conflict, just as it remains committed to defending itself. He asserted that Iran's response will be stronger if its adversaries once again opt for military confrontation.

Araghchi's remarks came amid continuing tensions surrounding the conflict and mounting economic pressure on Iran.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end "very quickly" and predicted that oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict was over. He also portrayed Iran as facing severe military and economic pressure.

Speaking to reporters after arriving in Texas and later during a visit to a Peterbilt Motors facility in Denton, Trump said Iran faced a choice over how the conflict would end.

"Iran will very soon be ending one way or the other," Trump told reporters. "It'll either just say, look, they have 301 per cent inflation. They have no money, they have no currency. Their military has been defeated, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, everything's gone."

"And, one way or the other, it's going to end very quickly. And when that ends, oil prices are going to drop like a rock," he said.

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