Iran Still Seeks Negotiated End To War, President Says After Latest Clashes With US

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's Note: For the latest updates on US-Iran hostilities since a 14-point MoU expired on August 17, follow the Khaleej Times live blog.]

Iran is still seeking a negotiated solution to its conflict with the U.S., President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, a day after the two countries resumed hostilities for the first time since late July, driving oil prices up more than 3.5 per cent.

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Pezeshkian's comments also came after US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video clip that he said showed Iran's oil hub Kharg Island being destroyed. There was no evidence of any such attack and a US official said on Monday the military had not targeted Kharg Island in overnight strikes. An Iranian official dismissed Trump's post as "laughable".

US forces on Sunday, August 30, struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak Island, some 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, a US official said, prompting Iran to strike two US bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media.

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Two people were killed and others were injured in the attack on Larak Island, Iran's IRNA news agency quoted the local governor as saying on Monday.

The return to hostilities followed weeks in which Trump's administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options. Diplomacy remains in stalemate.

Pezeshkian, speaking to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Kyrgyzstan, accused the United States of failing to fulfil its commitments under past agreements.

"Nevertheless, we are still trying to achieve an agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is in no one's interest, neither ours, nor the region's, nor humanity's," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

"We believe the solution to the existing issues is dialogue and cooperation and that every capacity must be used to prevent the spread of insecurity and conflict."

'Blown to smithereens'

Earlier, Trump had annoyed Iran by posting on his Truth Social platform the AI-generated video clip with the message: "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT."

Reuters confirmed that the video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically generated, using software that detects AI-manipulated imagery.

The White House and the US Defence Department did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Kharg handled 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by US and Israeli attacks on February 28, and attacking it ​would severely disrupt energy trade and put huge pressure on the economy.

"Trump's tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate," Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co, said on Monday.

Oil operations have not stopped and workers were busy repairing previous damage and modernising facilities, Bovard said in comments cited by Nournews, a semi-official outlet close to Iran's top security body.

Mines in the Strait

A US official said forces had attacked the Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after IRGC "forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz".

Larak is a small island in the strait near the strategic Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles a fifth of global crude oil shipments, has been effectively blocked since the start of the war.

In a statement, the US Central Command said it took "limited, precise" action against minelaying forces of Iran Guards that posed an "imminent threat" in the strait. It gave no details.

The Jordan strikes targeted US bases used to launch and support the attack on Larak, Iran's foreign ministry said.

The IRGC used air defence missiles to shoot down a U.S. drone that crashed in Gulf waters, the Mehr news agency said on Monday, citing a statement from the elite force.

A supertanker caught fire and was brought to a complete halt after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, Iran state TV said, citing a Guards' statement.

Piling economic pressure on Iran

Trump has yet to achieve the objectives he set out at the start of the war: dismantling Iran's nuclear programme, curbing its ability to attack regional rivals and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.

The European Union said on Monday it would continue to work with the US and others to maintain economic pressure on Iran.

The Guards said the supertanker on fire after being hit by mines had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally, but gave no details of the vessel or crew, according to a statement cited by state television.

Last week, Trump ​said all mines ‌had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be ​destroyed. Iran denied Trump's assertion.

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