BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17.
Iran approaches diplomacy responsibly in order to reduce regional
tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said during
a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, held on
the sidelines of the 52nd session of the Council of Foreign
Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad,
Iraq, on October 17.
This was stated in a statement by the Iranian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
"However, the U.S. side has failed to fulfill its diplomatic
commitments; most recently, it halted the implementation of the
Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which concerned the
cessation of hostilities, just two weeks after it was signed," he
noted.
Araghchi pointed out that the current situation in the Strait of
Hormuz is a consequence of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against
Iran.
During the meeting, the Iranian minister provided an update on
the status of diplomatic consultations being conducted through
intermediaries.
The two sides also exchanged views regarding developments on the
Arabian Peninsula. Stating that Iran is prepared to provide any
assistance toward halting the confrontations between Saudi Arabia
and Yemen, the Iranian minister noted that 12 years of tension
demonstrate that there is no solution to the issue in Yemen.
The next escalation in U.S.-Iranian relations began on July 8.
On that day, for the first time since the signing of the memorandum
between Washington and Tehran, U.S. forces launched a series of
strikes on Iranian territory, allegedly in response to an attack on
a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz. On the same day, U.S.
President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the ceasefire
with Iran. In response, Tehran began striking U.S. targets located
in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman. As a result
of the conflict, maritime trade in the Strait of Hormuz came to a
standstill.
