Iranian FM: Tehran ‘never’ asked US for ceasefire, is ‘ready to defend as long as it takes’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Iran has not asked for a ceasefire or negotiations with the United States in its ongoing war with the US and Israel, despite US President Donald Trump claiming Tehran appeared ready to make an agreement on terms unsuitable to Washington.

“No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” Araghchi says in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.

He denies the assessment that this is “a war of survival” for Iran, saying the country is “stable and strong enough. We are only defending our people, from [this] act of aggression.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the regime is not in a war of survival, telling @margbrennan the regime is “stable and strong enough.”

“We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and… pic.twitter.com/AQdyeWBiFu

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 15, 2026

Araghchi also says that multiple countries have approached Tehran to negotiate the safe passage of oil and gas vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iran’s efforts to block the strategic passage point.

“We are open to countries who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels,” Araghchi says, adding, “We have been approached by a number of countries who wants to have a safe passage for their vessels,” though he declines to name which countries.

The Financial Times reported that France and Italy have approached Iran to try to arrange passage for their ships.

“This is up to our military to decide, and they have already decided to let, you know, a group of vessels belongs to different countries to pass in a safe and secure,” he continues, repeating claims by Iranian officials that certain countries were permitted to pass ships through the strait, while adding that some of these countries are, by choice, “not coming themselves because of the insecurity which is there, because of the aggression by the US.”