00:00Iran says it would not allow the U.S. to determine when the two countries go to war or make
00:06peace as four consecutive nights without new exchanges of fire raised hopes that Qatar and Pakistan-led mediation could revive
00:16the collapsed interim agreement.
00:17Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bakay said at his weekly press briefing on Monday that, quote, any decision on future talks
00:26would be based solely on Iran's national interests and that Tehran would continue defending itself for as long as necessary.
00:35Earlier, Bakay acknowledged that Tehran and Washington were still exchanging messages, but said U.S. military actions had destroyed the
00:44conditions for meaningful negotiations.
00:47Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that Iran had requested talks through intermediaries and directly, claiming
00:57Tehran was willing to negotiate because of military pressure it had faced.
01:02Trump, however, warned the U.S. will return to a wide-scale military operation should current talks fail.
01:09The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passed before Iran effectively
01:17closed it following the start of the war on 28 February, remains the central sticking point in any settlement.
01:24Iran's position is that it holds sovereign authority over the waterway and may designate approved transit routes, a claim the
01:32U.S., Gulf states and most of the international community reject under the U.N. Convention on the Law of
01:39the Sea.
01:40Iran's position is a capital of the U.S.
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