US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that Washington will engage Iran “when the time is right.”
Until that happens, the US will intensify its economic pressure on Iran until Tehran forgoes violence and engages with US diplomatic efforts, he added.
When Tehran decides “to forgo violence and meet our diplomacy with diplomacy, it knows how to reach us.”
Meanwhile, an Iranian general warned Sunday that any conflict in the Gulf region may spread uncontrollably, reported the semi-official news agency Fars.
“If a conflict breaks out in the region, no country would be able to manage its scope and timing,” said Major General Gholamali Rashid.
“The American government must act responsibly to protect the lives of American troops by avoiding misconduct in the region.”
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a military strike to retaliate for Iran’s downing of a drone because it could have killed 150 people, and signaled he was open to talks with Tehran.
Iran said on Saturday it would respond firmly to any threat against it.
At parliament, Iranian lawmakers chanted “Death to America” after a speaker accused the United States of being the “real world terrorist”.
“America is the real terrorist in the world by spreading chaos in countries, giving advanced weapons to terrorist groups, causing insecurity, and still it says ‘Come, let’s negotiate’,” the parliament’s deputy speaker, Masoud Pezeshkian, said at the start of a session broadcast live on state radio.
Israel, which has itself long threatened strikes against Iran’s disputed nuclear program, signaled understanding for Trump’s stance given his campaign of diplomatic pressure on Tehran.
“With all due respect to the fact that 150 Iranians were spared a cruel fate, the real major thing is the American policy (which) absolutely serves the interests of the world and of Israel in preventing Iran from getting nuclear weaponry,” Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel Radio.
Trump said on Saturday he would impose fresh sanctions on Iran but that he wanted to make a deal to bolster its flagging economy, an apparent move to defuse tensions.
Hanegbi predicted, however, that Washington could still hit out at the Iranians if provoked in the Gulf.
“I learned that - if you study theater - a pistol that is brought out in the First Act will apparently be fired in the Third Act (and) we are getting close to the third,” he said.
