Tehran rejects seeking negotiations with US, confirms Hormuz remains closed

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei addressed several major points during a press briefing in Tehran on Monday.

Iran has not requested a restart of negotiations with the United States to ‌end the war, he said, adding that negotiations with the United States are "not in our DNA."

“This is not war management. Repeated war crimes and boasting about them are merely attempts to escape a disaster they created under the influence of the Zionist regime, and they will inevitably pay the price,” Baghaei told reporters.

He added that negotiations between Iran and Oman on the key waterway were held on Friday and Saturday.

“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has not changed; it remains closed, and these negotiations have nothing to do with the US.”

The Iranian official also commented on the detention of two French diplomats earlier this month by Iran’s security forces, calling in the French ambassador.

“It was stressed that the French government must cease such actions and such interference in Iran’s internal affairs under misleading labels.”

Baghaei said the diplomats’ actions were carried out “under the pretext of engaging with civil society”.

The diplomats were detained and interrogated for several hours on July 19, before being allowed to return to the embassy.